Control
by Simple Joy
Summary: When Zuko tries the lure the Avatar by taking one of his friends as bait, he'll quickly learn he's misjudged how easy it would be to keep a prisoner.  Now they'll both have to fight for control of their emotions, their hearts, and their future.
1. Chapter 1

**I was rereading the Zutara fic **_**In My Eyes**_** I had made about a year ago when I realized how much it was missing. I feel like my writing has matured now, and I have some new ideas so I've rewrote the story keeping a lot of the parts but fixing grammar, spelling, and some things that didn't make sense. I also plan on adding a few things.**

**Oh and one more thing, before you get to the end, I won't be writing a sequel. I'm not that interested in what would happen after but if anyone else would like to write a take on it I'd be more than happy to give you permission. =]**

Chapter One

She stepped on another stone causing her to loose her step for a moment and I could tell that I was gaining on her. I couldn't help but let a small smile creep onto my face; this was easier than I thought it would be. My plan at first was of course to go after the Avatar. But, after stumbling upon the Waterbender first, I had come up with a new plan. I went after her on her walk back from a river she was bathing at, and of course she led me away from the Avatar, but I wasn't so sure I needed to capture him tonight. She didn't have any water on her either; I was smart enough to attack her when she got further away from her bathing area. I assumed the Avatar was closer to the river or else she would have gone back there to fight me. This girl seemed to predicable.

It was cold in this part of the Earth Kingdom and she had lost a shoe a while back. She wasn't pacing herself very well, and I'm sure she was only thinking about leading me far away from her other friends. I lit another tree on fire and she tripped over a fallen branch and caught herself on the ground. This was too easy. She started coughing, getting up, but tripped again, collapsing onto the ground. She let out a small yelp. Her mistakes were her panicking, if she had just relaxed and thought, maybe she could have escaped. But perhaps I was expecting too much from a water peasant. She couldn't nearly have the same agility, alertness, and control that I had.

Her head finally turned to face me as if she was giving up, and it was filled with horror, no, defeat… and disappointment. I continued to smirk as I slowed my pace into a walk toward her, knowing she was mine now. She locked eyes with me while she tried to get up and run again, but I'm sure her legs were numb by now and she wouldn't be able to last much longer if she had.

I was finally right in front of her. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked, sickened by her still trying.

"Get away from me," she spat out. Now her expression was a bit more confident. It was no longer fear, but disgust.

She finally got up onto her feet and I grabbed her arm, pulling her into my chest. "That's no way to treat a prince," I whispered to her with harsh air, making a piece of hair get thrown back out of her face.

The light from the tree burning behind me lit up her face. I shook her and now all of her hair fell behind her shoulders. She had a certain beauty about her, and those big, blue eyes were piercing.

"You don't deserve that name," she told me. Now, she showed no fear, but I was sure I could change that.

"You need to learn your manners, filthy peasant." With this comment, I took out my sword and hit her over the top of the head with the end of the handle. I held her limp body up and threw her over my shoulder. Throwing my head to get my long, shagged hair out of my face, I headed towards my ship.

When I finally got to the ship, I threw her down into a cell. Her unconscious body laid awkwardly in a heap on the floor. I was about to turn when I stopped myself. I squatted down and pushed her into a more comfortable position. My hands seemed to wander before I could stop them and I brushed the hair out of her face. She was obviously older then the child I thought she was, with striking young woman features. I had to stop myself from thinking and I quickly got up. The low lighting of the room would make anyone's features stand out I told myself.

I walked out, closing and locking the cell. I couldn't help but to wonder what she might do to get out. I knew from previous fights and tonight that she had a lot of drive in her.

I left my thoughts unfinished as I walked up the hallway, passing one of my guards.

"Keep a close eye on her," I ordered. "She's unconscious now, but be alert when she wakes up."

He had a strange look in his eyes with that last sentence but I disregarded it. He gave me a nod and quickly turned to walk towards her cell. It gave me pride that my men were so enthusiastic of their job.

I couldn't help but to think again of anything she might try, and then I thought of what if the guard would to try to feed her, just as if he would any other prisoner. And with food, comes water.

This thought panicked me for a moment and I turned around on the stairs I was before heading up. I don't believe anyone on this ship knew she was a Waterbender besides my uncle and me.

As I approached the corner to where the cells were something sounded… odd. It wasn't the still sound of the guard watching and the girl sleeping that I thought it would be. Someone was moving.

My curiosity quickened my step and I rounded the corner, seeing the door of the cell which was strangely open. That's when the thought of when my men had last seen a girl came into my head.

Seeing the guard, advancing on the helpless girl, shocked and then enraged me. He had only just seen her and was already taking advantage of his position.

I came up behind the man and pulled him up roughly by the back of his shirt. "You're disgusting," I told him and threw him hard against the wall.

"But Prince," he started as he sat up, "She's only a prisoner."

"And you're a savage," I shot back, not believing that that was his excuse for doing something no man ever should. I turned from the man pushed against the wall with fright and picked the girl up in my arms. For some reason, I clutched her as if she was fragile, completely opposite of how I had before. I could tell her clothes would have been off if I had come in any later than I had before. I pulled down her dress as I walked out of the cell. Then, without looking at the man left behind me, I shut and locked the door.

"Please, Prince," he begged as he scrambled to the door realizing what I had done. He grasped his hands around the bars and I kicked his fingers causing him to pull his arm to his chest with a sound of pain. I figured being a Prince; I would get more respectable people to be working with on this ship.

She was now being carried in my two arms and I looked down at her face. I was happy she hadn't awoken because for some reason, I didn't want her to know about that. I felt as though she was my responsibly and I was guilty for letting that happen to her. Even if she was a prisoner, she was still a woman. A beautiful woman, at that, which is what made me so scared to have her on this ship now.

So, I walked up the stairs and decided to place her in my bedroom until I could find a better place for her. As I laid her on the bed, a man approached me.

"Uncle," I greeted him keeping my eyes on the girl.

"Why isn't she in the cell you wanted so bad to put her in?" He asked standing behind me.

"A guard tried advancing on her. I don't know where I'll keep her now," I stated. I stood there looking over her body. She was suddenly becoming an inconvenience. If had taken the other boy, or let alone the Avatar, I doubt I would be having this much trouble with keeping them.

"Well perhaps it's best if she stays here with you. Then she'll be even closer under your watch. Although, the best place for her would be in her own room or not on this ship at all."

I tried to stay calm. He was always so quick to get my temper going when he would disagree with my decisions.

Behind me I heard him start to head for the door, "You should aid to her wounds, young prince," and with that, he was gone.

I finally looked up to see the door shut wondering what he meant. I hadn't noticed anything wrong with her before, but now, as I scanned her body again, I realized her shoeless foot was gushing blood. The blood was also flowing all over my bed. I looked down at my shirt, seeing blood on my chest that I hadn't noticed before.

"I should have kept you in the cell," I said to myself as I went to my bathroom pulling off my shirt and throwing it on the floor. I didn't want this peasant's blood all over me. I grabbed a towel, wetted it and came back to sit on the bed by her feet. I lifted her right foot and placed in my lap, starting to clean it off. Her whole body was covered with dirt I quickly noticed.

I dislodged a stone stuck in her foot and finished cleaning off the blood. I realized I didn't have any sort of bandage on me, so I tore off a piece of my shirt that was lying on the ground and tied it tightly around her wound. I wouldn't have worn that shirt again anyways. Her skin was strangely soft, and it was such a beautiful color I couldn't help but to let my hands wander a bit longer than needed.

I quickly snapped back into reality and got up. I suppose I hadn't seen a girl in a while either.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I was dreading coming back to my room. This was the first time I was uneasy about one of my plans and I was simply lost with what I should do with her. But I needed to return. Surely she had awakened by now; it was late in the night. Also, I couldn't find many more excuses for me to stay awake and not retire to my room. She needed me too, which is why I walked to my room with arms filled with food and bandages.

I unlocked the door and walked in as quietly as I could. She appeared to be asleep still. I placed the tray on the side table and picked up the bandages. As I sat down on the bed and lifted up her foot, her head quickly turned to me as she leaned up and we locked eyes.

"Oh," she said as her face went from surprise to anger. "It's you."

She must have already woken up while I was gone. No one gets knocked out and then wakes up that easily.

"When did you wake up?" I asked. "Before this I mean."

"I know what you mean," she said, pulling her foot away. "It wasn't that long ago. I was just resting." She now tried to sit up, a little too fast, and grabbed her head, falling back onto the pillow.

"Be careful," I told her, "I already have to take care of this injury. Now give me your foot."

"Well you wouldn't have to if you didn't capture me in the first place," she retorted, pulling her legs away as she sat up, slowly this time. This caused her to wince and she stretched out her right leg towards me.

I tried putting her foot in my lap but she seemed to be twitching it. "Don't move so much," I ordered. I didn't have time for these games.

She gave me a, "Hhmph," as I grabbed her foot and placed it on my lap.

As I unwrapped my makeshift bandage I said, "I would expect a little more respect from you."

"Well I don't respect unrespectable, selfish royalty," she commented back bluntly.

"Selfish," I said to myself shaking my head. I never thought I was selfish before, but then I begin to think of it. I wanted my honor back, to redeem myself. Perhaps I never did think of my people, my nation. But here I was taking care of this girl and placing her in my room to save her from men that would take advantage of her. This was foolish though, why was I letting this Water Tribe peasant's words getting into my head?

While I was thinking, she gave a little shriek and pulled back her foot. "Ouch! You know, I can take care of this myself. Why don't you just go get me some water?"

I shook my head. "Do you think I'm that dumb?" I asked. Why would she think I would give her her element?

"I can heal," she answered. "Please, it'd be much easier."

I thought about this for a minute or so. I wasn't really sure how much I believed that she could heal herself. How would I know that she wouldn't use the water against me? But then, I considered how easily I fought her before. I wouldn't giver her much liquid and I could overpower her without much effort. She's just a pathetic girl. Also, the whole time I was thinking it over in my head I was staring at her eyes. To save myself from the awkwardness that rushed though me, I quickly got up trying to calm myself. I went to the bathroom and filled a bowl with water and brought it back to her not really having a choice at that point.

She took it without a thank you or a look in the eyes and bended it around her hand. The next thing she did amazed me; I've never seen anything like it. She created a glove around her hand and then placed it over the bottom of her foot. In seconds it appeared to be perfect skin and she drew back her hand. She made it seem like it was nothing. I wanted to tell her that was amazing, but I stopped myself. She was the enemy.

Then something quickly came to my mind, "I don't think I've ever gotten your name," I told her.

"Why am I here?" she asked, changing the subject. She still had this look of anger on her face.

"Do you mean in this room or here on my ship?" I asked. I was getting a little bored now and I felt like this was a waste of time, sitting here talking to this girl while I could have been… I was so disorganized it made me even more upset and not caring to what she said.

She pondered my question and then answered, "Both."

I took a deep breath. I had a strange feeling she wasn't going to like anything I said. "Will the Avatar come after you?"

"No," she answered quickly, but seemed unsure. "He wouldn't risk it." I felt like she was convincing herself more than me.

"I think otherwise," I stated and moved on before she could say anything in return. I figured that was enough of an answer. "Now, about this room…"

"Why aren't I in a cell?" she asked. Her expression lost its hatred now. She simply seemed, intrigued.

For some reason, I didn't want to tell her the real reason. But I did need to say something. "My men haven't seen a woman in a while. So I honestly, don't trust them enough to put you in one. I'd be grateful." That was all she needed to hear.

"Why do you even care?" she asked.

This made me a little upset and I quickly stood up. "Fine. I can put you in one right now." I could tell my voice let off a sound of anger.

She didn't say anything and we both stayed still where we were. I knew she'd rather stay here, but was just too full of herself for thanking me for bringing her to my room. "I figured you'd rather stay in my room," I stated for her.

"Your room?" she asked raising an eyebrow. I was talking too much to her. "So where are you going to stay?"

Because I didn't like the answer, I ignored this question. "I brought you some food," I told her pointing to the tray.

She looked down at her feet and then looked up. "What?" she shouted. "No, no way!" I assumed she was talking about my ignorance of her question before, not that she was excited that I had brought her something to eat.

I sighed and headed for the door. "You're welcome to take a bath," and without turning around, I pointed to the door to my right. I had gotten over the fear of giving her water, with my confidence of her capture. "You look like you need one."

She gave another "Hhmph," but before I shut the door she said something else.

"Katara, that's my name."

I leaned up against the door, baffled with why she decided to tell me this and what excuse I was to make now with why I wasn't sleeping.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

When I had captured Katara, it was early in the evening. When I visited her in my room, it was just past sunset. The night was now too late for me to continue wondering around. I had already wasted three hours I could have been sleeping.

Katara. That was her name, and it was strangely beautiful even though I had never heard it before. Yet, it seemed foreign to my head, and my thoughts. I could now refer to her differently than peasant.

I was talking with my captain on deck when it happened, just about to leave to head down to my room. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of long wavy brown hair and quickly turned when I realized I only had one person on this ship with that kind of hair.

My body was overwhelmed with rage as I saw her escape the guard's grip that had led her up the stairs and run to the railing. I quickly strode over to where she was, thinking that she would try and overtake my ship using her water bending. As I reached her the guard had grabbed hold of her arm and was roughly turning her around. I realized a stream of water was just reaching a deck of the ship before it dropped back down. Before he did anything further, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and Katara's arm. One in each hand, I threw him across the deck so he slammed against the railing on the other side.

Katara's eyes seemed to shine with shock drawing my attention, her eyes were a bright contrast to the dark waves moving behind her. But, my rage continued me further. I put my free hand around her neck and pulled her up to me. Letting go of her arm, I raise my right hand above my head. She stared at my eyes, and then shut them tight, turning her head the most she could in my grip. She was waiting for impact.

I moved my hand down and changed it into a fist with a pointing finger, "That was a warning. I don't want to have to hit a woman, even one of your low standards." I stated. She opened her eyes, now glazed with water. "I don't know how you got him to bring you up here, but do not try escaping again." I was utterly confused because I remember locking the door behind me.

Her hands clamped onto mine and I realized how hard I was holding her neck. Those soft hands pointed down their nails and dug into my skin. I released her and she fell to the ground.

She coughed but didn't look at me or say anything. I was still extremely upset. With a glance, I realized the other man had him his head on the metal surface and was now slumped over, unconscious.

She sat up now and from under her breath she said, "Your guards are fools."

I took a deep breath realizing the fear I had caused in her. I didn't feel like she would try anything now and that thought calmed me down. I kind of felt sorry for her, even though I was still mad at her actions.

"Come on," I ordered smoothly, holding out a hand. She continued to look down so I wrapped my hand around her bicep and pulled her up, trying to be a little bit gentler. But, soon after we started to walk, she pulled out of my grasp.

"I can walk on my own," she started firmly. I noticed she was rubbing her neck.

Then I realized something that I suppose hadn't caught my eye before. "Why are you wearing my clothes?"

She looked down at herself as if she almost forgot. She had a pair of my black pants tied around her with a red, long-sleeved, plain shirt on, and no shoes. "I was washing my clothes." I looked back up at her face and her left foot; they were still covered with dirt.

"Didn't you take a bath?" I asked.

"What's that suppose to mean?" she shot back staring me in the eyes.

I didn't say anything to that last comment and continued to follow her lead to my room. When we got there I opened the now unlocked door and let her go in first. I continued to stand in the doorway as she walked back to the bed. It was odd seeing a woman in my clothing. Even though they didn't fit her, for some reason, they seemed to compliment her body.

"I'll be back soon; I need to go talk to that guard. Then we'll need to go to sleep." I told her and then quickly shut the door and locked it. The last thing I saw was her turning her head with her mouth open to protest.

After seeing to the guard and realizing he wouldn't be waking up soon, I left my other men to deal with him. I made it back to my room with a tray of food I had picked up. I hadn't really brought her a meal before, just some bread and I figured she'd be hungry since when I returned her before all the food was gone. Since Katara had be busy all day, I hadn't really thought of eating anything for dinner, but I'd rather feed her than take the risk of hearing her complaints and having a full stomach. Now, I was tired. Although most nights I stayed up this late it, I had to deal with a lot today.

When I opened the door I was almost confused by the sight I saw. Katara was on the ground pushing sheets across the metal floor.

I made sure to lock the door and place the key in my pants. "What is that?" I asked as I walked over to a table and placed the tray on it next to the one I hadn't removed. My room had a large bed, a side table, a dresser and another table where I would work on things at night.

"It's a bed," she stated, like I was asking her what color the sky was. "It's what you sleep on," she added looking back down at her work.

"That is not a bed," I told her, striding to the place where she kneeled on the ground, "And I am not sleeping on it."

"Well I'm not sleeping on the floor," she said gesturing with her hands now. "And aren't you supposed to accommodate women first?"

"You're first off a prisoner," I said. I think I was explaining this so I understood though. "Then a woman… barely. Besides," I crouched down to look at her in the eyes, "Aren't you used to sleeping on the floor?"

"You're an awful person," she retorted with a straight face and then stood up. "I am sleeping on the bed and that's final."

"Well good, me too." She gave me a look of disbelief and then headed over to her food.

I picked up the sheets and pillows and started to remake the bed, pulling the blanket with blood on it off. I was afraid that perhaps it'd get cold tonight though, but I'd rather be chilly than sleep with blood at my feet. I could keep my own body temperature up.

"Is there honestly no other place for me to sleep?" I heard come from behind me.

I now turned around and headed to the table. I moved some scrolls over and sat in the chair opposite of her. It looked like she must have gone through them to keep herself entertained, but they were mostly just maps, so I wasn't worried.

"Yes, you can sleep with the crew. I'm sure they'd be glad to welcome you." She simply stared at me and took another bite of her bread. "Look, I have no interest in being in the same bed as you, don't flatter yourself. Besides, it's huge; you won't even have to touch me. It's much better this way."

"Men are sick," she concluded. It upset me that she thought I had her in my room for my own personal use. I wished she would be more thankful for what I was doing for her. Then she changed the subject. A part of me wished she would stop opening her mouth, yet it was kind of nice to have someone different to talk to. "You're Uncle came to talk to me."

"Oh," was all I said. Even though I knew it was going to happen, I was still a bit surprised.

"Yeah, he's really nice, nothing like you actually," she told me taking another mouthful. After she finished swallowing she continued, "He says we have a lot in common, but I don't really see how that could be true." I was trying to think when she meant he came since I hadn't seen him all night. I was also wondering why she seemed too quick to talk to me after the fear she showed me on the deck earlier. Although, I wasn't about to conclude that she forgave me.

"It's hard to understand anything that old man says," I responded. Trying to think of some way that Katara and I are similar, all I could think of was our connections to the Avatar.

Katara continued to ponder and looked like she was thinking over something. As I stared at her, I didn't something without thinking. I reached over the table and grabbed the rest of her bread. But, as I didn't this, my hand grazed over hers and her incredible blue eyes locked with mine. I swallowed and retreated my hand, thinking over why I just did that.

"I thought this was my food," she said, perfectly still, just gazing into my eyes. Maybe she actually thought she had made that mistake.

"I didn't get to eat dinner," I told her and stood up. I couldn't stand that stare anymore.

I ate the bread slowly while I walked over to the bed and sat down. I started taking off my boots with one hand. After I had both shoes off she strode over to lay into the bed, her tray cleared of food.

"Why won't you go take a bath?" I asked becoming aware of how dirty she was again. I honestly didn't want that in my bed.

"You're very rude," she answered. She got under the covers and turned away from me. I took my shirt off, tossing it to the side.

"What are you doing?" She asked me. I now realized she was sitting up as I turned around to face her.

"This is how I sleep." I answered shortly not wanting to hear her retort.

"Not next to me you aren't," She stated clearly giving me wide eyes. I stood up and I noticed her gaze drop below my neck. But, only for a second.

"Katara, please. I need to go to bed," and with that, I got under the covers next to her. I gave a flick of my wrist and put out the lamps around the room.

As soon as I shut my eyes I heard rustling. I tried to ignore it but it didn't stop and I rolled over to face her. From the moonlight, I could tell Katara was up and moving on my bed. Then I realized she was grabbing pillows and placing them between us as if making a wall.

I lit a flame in my hand and her eyes quickly shot to me as she stopped moving.

"What are you doing?" I asked in disbelief. She was a little annoying in how dramatic she was.

"I don't want you to touch me," she told me as she went back to her job and finished laying the three pillows between us.

"Katara," I started. It was strange saying that name, like it was a word that shouldn't be spoken. "This bed is huge and like I told you before, I'm not going to lay a hand on you."

She looked up at me with a sad expression, as if she didn't trust me. It hurt to see that. I was a man of my word.

I broke our eye connection and put out the light. We both laid down and she seemed to have fallen asleep quickly. As for me, it took me a while, like it did every night, but this time I had someone to stare at.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Before my eyes opened, I felt the position I was in. It wasn't the usually position I awoke in. This time, I was somewhat on my stomach and on my side with an object underneath me. My right arm was under the pillow my head was on and my left arm was over the top of the object. My legs were also intertwined with something warm. I quickly shot my eyes open, but didn't move.

She was so warm, and felt so soft, but I still cursed myself for waking up first. I noticed the sun was just rising, which was the usual time I woke up. I took a deep breath, not liking the position I was in, and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. That only made it worse.

Hoping she was a heavy sleeper, I wiggled out of our position. Once I finally stood up, she stirred and shivered giving a little groan as her warmth source left her. I then realized how cold it was in my room, she must have been freezing last night which was why we were so close. That's what I was going to convince myself anyways. Then, a smile appeared along my face, as I realized her pillow barrier had been pushed to the foot of the bed.

It was kind of flattering that a woman needed me for something, and surprisingly, she was pretty needy. But, at the same time, I didn't want to make a relationship with her. I decided to get dressed and head for training before I would think too much about this. She shouldn't be causing all these problems.

As I was finishing putting on my shoes, Katara stirred again and this time sat up rubbing her eyes. It was kind of cute too when she started to yawn.

"Oh!" she said, "This bed is so nice!" then she flopped back down on it. I cleared my throat to let her know I was still in the room, since she seemed to be oblivious of my presence.

She shot back up embarrassed and look to the side, not saying anything.

I stood up from the chair I was sitting on, wanting to escape the tension in the room.

As I headed for the door grabbing my coat, her voice stopped me. "Where are you going?"

"I have a ship to run," I answered, my hand on the doorknob.

"When will you be back?" Never, I wanted to answer. I never knew how to act around her and I hated how uncontrollable our situations were.

"Late. I'll have someone else bring you breakfast." I turned the handle to open the door.

"Wait!" She stopped me. I turned towards her. "You know how you wanted me to bathe last night?"

It seemed like an odd thing to bring me. I nodded my head. "Yes, you should probably do that."

She rolled her eyes at me. "Nevermind. She headed into the bathroom with the same stubborn look she always had. I shut the door and stood against the wall. For some reason, I felt like I shouldn't leave.

I waited as she shut the bathroom and I heard her move around. Then, as I heard a splash in the water I realized how ridiculous it was that I was standing, listening to her in the bathroom. I quickly pushed myself off the wall and went to grab the door again, but a small voice stopped me.

"Zuko," I turned to face her seeing her peaking through the crack of the door and it's frame with her long hair hanging down from her head.

"Yes?" I answered, confused.

"The water's freezing," she told me. Then, it all became increasingly clear. A little smile came across my face because I didn't realize it before. "I don't think I can stand water that cold again." I figured she was referencing to when she was bathing before I caught her by the river. Or maybe she had tried to take a bath when she had washed her clothes

I stood up and walked to the door. Once I opened it, I saw Katara's whole figured, wrapped in just a towel. It took me a second to catch my breath; her skin was just so appealing. I tried to play it off like I hadn't noticed. I didn't want to make anything awkward for either of us. I ran a hand through my long hair as I walked over to the tub and stuck my other in the water. But out of the corner of my eye, I was staring at her toned legs. At that moment, I wished I would have taken the Water Tribe boy.

"Zuko," her voice shook me back into reality. "I think that's good." I looked into the tub to see that it was steaming.

"Can't you…" I trailed off as she shook her head already answering my question.

"I can only change the form of water, not the temperature," she kept looking at me with an odd expression, and I realized I was staring again. "Thank you, um, that's all I needed."

I was a little taken back that she had said thank you. I just nodded to her and then headed to the door. I took a step forward and then took a deep breath. I didn't want her needing me, I didn't even want her talking to me and now I was afraid of what I was getting myself into.

I left for the day but I had the image of her burned into my eyelids only to taunt me every time I shut them.

Uncle had brought her breakfast and I figured it was my turn to bring her lunch. As much as I didn't want to go back, I didn't want to make it seem as if I was trying to stay away. I felt like she brought my weaknesses out of me and more than anything I wanted to show her that I was strong and superior to her.

I opened the door only to be surprised to see her sitting in my clothes again. She was on my bed fumbling with her hair trying to get the knots out of it. The only way I knew she noticed my entrance was by the quick glare she gave me.

I wasn't exactly sure what to do as she came up to the table and started eating quietly. Usually she started our conversation, if you could even call it that. So, I stood behind her, watching her eat not sure of what to do. This is why I didn't want to come back.

I suddenly felt very hot and I decided it was best to leave. I needed to get rid of the anxiety I felt.

"Where are you going?" She asked her back to me and she didn't turn around to face me either. I had only taken a few steps. I was almost of the door and back in control of my ship, my men, and my thoughts. But, of course, she stopped me.

I turned on my heel, not sure what to say. She couldn't keep quiet very easily. "To train," I answered simply.

She didn't say anything, just continued eating slowly as if I hadn't said a word. I was sure she heard me though. I never really spoke quietly. I went to turn around, but once again, I was stopped. "Can I come?" She asked plainly as if it was nothing.

The way she asked was the reason I think I agreed. She made it seem as if it would cause no harm, and honestly it probably wouldn't. I wasn't sure why she would want to come but then I'm sure she was bored just sitting in the room. Besides, I could keep a good eye on her while training. Overall, I think she just puts me in a considerate mood.

I hate her for that.

"Uh I guess. Just don't interrupt me," I said not sure of what I was getting myself into.

A slight grin came across her face and she turned and stood up out of the chair. She patted my clothes that she was wearing so the wrinkles came out of them. They were the same ones from yesterday and for some reason it flattered me. Seeing a woman in my clothes made me feel like… I had a purpose. It was a strange feeling that I didn't like, at least not in the fact that she caused it.

She walked toward me while putting her hair into a braid. I opened the door and reached for her arm, but she moved away. "Trust me; I don't plan to take a swim in these waters today." I nodded and we headed up the stairs. Not only was the water freezing in the area we were, there wasn't land for miles. I supposed she knew that from the air temperature and the maps she had been looking at before.

I walked in front of her, guiding, but listening closely to any moves besides on foot in front of the other she might decide to make.

"We're going onto the deck?" she asked as we walked up the stairs.

"I don't want to catch the ship on fire," I explained and she nodded understanding as she wrapped her arms around herself. As we took our first step into the cool air, I handed her my jacket.

"Here, I won't need it," she took it without an expression but seemed to nod a bit for thanks. I figured while I was training I'd warm myself up. I hated the cold so much though; I don't know how that girl could live in snow year round.

She smiled a bit when she put on the coat, it really didn't fit her, but I could tell it warmed her up. I regretted giving it to her then. It seemed to me like the more of my clothes she put on the more I wanted her off my ship. I had no idea why I was so quick to give it up. She headed over to the railing and sat down looking like she was ready to pay attention. I tried not to look at her as she straightened her back and folded her hands, it seemed like she was mocking me a bit. The wind blew her hair and she looked very mature suddenly, even though the clothes she had on were twice her size.

I drew my attention to my stance. I felt even more alert than usually with the idea that this was another escape Katara was planning. But, her expression before didn't make it seem like that was her idea. Besides, even if she did defeat me, what then? I started throwing fire, practicing a move Uncle had taught me yesterday, and then I realized he was watching me from across the deck. I tried to do some of the harder tricks I knew, not sure if it was to impress Uncle or Katara. As I was lost in my own world, something drew my attention from my peripheral vision.

One of my men was standing by Katara talking to her, and she had stood up with the help of his hand. For some reason, seeing her smile at him really bothered me. He shot her another smile and said something else making her laugh, this made me very upset. It was kind of surprising how friendly she was being right now too; I was sure there was something else behind it. I quickly shot fire off the side of the ship and started to walk towards them.

Neither of them saw me until I grabbed the man's shirt and pulled him up to my face. I threw a fist against his cheek and he fell backwards into the metal railing. "Who gave you permission to talk to her?" I asked. I was in rage and it would be hard to calm me down. I felt like I was fighting with my own men more than I was the enemy now.

"Zuko," I heard Katara's voice let out faintly.

"Sir, I didn't know. I wasn't hurting her," he tried to explain, but I would have none of it.

"Get out of my sight," I ordered, "Before I do worse."

Over to my right I could see Uncle shaking his head, but it seemed like he had a sort of smirk on his face too. Right now, I didn't care what he was thinking.

Then I turned to Katara, and this time she looked at me with a straight face. She didn't seem to be afraid of me now. "Zuko, he wasn't doing any harm."

"You should go back now. I expect you to stay down there." For some reason, I trusted she wouldn't go wondering around the ship, and I didn't want to walk down there to lock the room.

She gave me a look like she was very upset but walked past me towards the stairs. Without making eye contact with my uncle, I tried to go back to training. After probably a minute, I just couldn't get Katara's expression that I had last seen out of my mind and I felt the need to go after her. Something made me uneasy.

When I took the first step on the stairs, I heard a scream. I quickened my pace as I heard a man yell, "This you're fault you filthy whore!"

There was another woman's scream but this time it was a name, "Zuko!" It was followed by another muffled shriek.

I followed the sound and rounded the corner to find the same man from before pressing Katara against the wall with his mouth on hers. There was blood coming down her chin, I expected it was from her lip. There's a thing about me most people should learn, when I'm upset, you shouldn't make it worse.

This time I threw fire at him sending him flying down the hall. I walked swiftly up to him and picked him up by his throat. Then, I slammed him against the wall and lit my fist on fire. I punched the metal next to his head making a dent where I melted the surface. This scared him and he gave a yell as I started to warm my hand around his neck. I heard Katara gasp for air to my right and it only made me more upset. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I yell as I threw a fist against his check that I hit only a few minutes ago on the deck. I heard a loud crack. This impact sent his head against the wall he was knocked out. I let his body slide to the floor. His right arm was bleeding from the burn and his neck was turning pink from where my hot hand had been.

I took a deep breath and then walked over to Katara. "Can't you just stay out of trouble for one minute?" I asked between my teeth. She gave me a look of disbelief. I knew it wasn't her fault, but I was getting sick of having to take care of this pathetic girl. I took another breath to calm down. She continued to stare at me with those big cerulean eyes that were now glazed over with tears. I picked her up by her arm and headed for my room. She dug her heels into the ground in refusal and I stooped lower to throw her over my shoulder.

This must have been hard on her, I doubt a man had ever done that to her before. When we entered I placed her on the bed. Looking at her swollen lips and blood coming from it made me sorry and feel enraged. I was angry because I let her get hurt again. I was angry that I was feeling so protective of her. I was angry that I couldn't control my anger!

"Are you okay?" I asked. My voice was still harsh, but I tried to sound calm. She finally met my eyes but then broke the gaze and turned over in the bed away from me. "Katara, please. I'm sorry I didn't want that to happen."

"He wouldn't have done that if you wouldn't have punched him early," she said quietly.

This started to bring me back to my anger, but I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. "No, he would have done it whenever he got the chance. That just gave him motive."

She didn't say anything, just laid on the bed. I got up and headed for the door. I wasn't sure how to comfort her.

I passed Uncle in the hallway and looked down. "What happened?" he asked, but I didn't answer.

"I need a new crew," was all I stated, thinking of how poorly my men had acted the past two days.

He kept walking without responding. I heard him go into my room. I was hoping so bad that he would make her feel better and not hate me. Not that it mattered if she liked me, but I didn't intend for this plan to be such an awful event for her.

I didn't go back to Katara until night, waiting as long as I possible could. I didn't see Uncle the rest of the day either; I hoped he had fed her.

I finally got the nerve to go back to the room and snuck in as quietly as I could. All of the lamps were out so I was hoping she was already asleep. I took off my shoes and shirt as quietly as I could and sneaked into the bed. This time, there wasn't a wall of pillows between us. Once I laid down on my back, I felt her shift but I kept my eyes shut. I knew she was staring at me; at least it wasn't my scared side.

"Go to sleep Katara," I told her. This gaze was driving me crazy.

She jumped at my voice but didn't stop looking at me. "Thank you," she finally said and then rolled over. I wanted to thank Uncle right now.

That night, I went to sleep quicker than I had in a long while.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The sun warmed my face and called me to wake up. As I opened my eyes, I woke again to a Waterbender in my arms. I'll admit, I wasn't getting used to this, but I wasn't complaining at the same time. But at this moment, I was still not sure of my feelings towards the girl or how I should be acting. This was one of the first times in my life I didn't know exactly what I wanted.

Her face was buried in my chest, and as I tried to slip away, she woke up. I held my breath as she raised her head up and her eyelashes fluttered open. I didn't move and her vision suddenly connected with mine. Those large, blue eyes grew wide as she realized how close in proximity we were.

Quickly, she shoved herself backwards, almost falling off because of how fast she moved. We didn't say anything, just stared at each other.

"Why… Why were…?" she trailed off. I couldn't tell how she felt about the position we were just in a few moments ago.

"It was cold last night," I answered, trying to come up with a good reason as to why she would cling to my chest.

Her mouth just hung open. I realized that she must have healed her lip from yesterday as it was back to looking just as perfect as the rest of her face. I was hoping she wasn't mentally abusing herself, and I wasn't about to tell her how I woke up yesterday. She nodded her head a bit as to except my excuse and then I headed slowly over to my dresser to grab some clothes for the morning. I noticed my jacket was hanging on a chair at the table.

I then realized I hadn't bathed yesterday, so I decided to take a bath before I changed. I didn't plan on training today because we had a lot to do before we reached port, which should be sometime tonight.

I tried not to look back at Katara as I headed into the bathroom, but I caught a glance. She was still in the same position, just sitting on the bed, but this time with an upset expression. It hurt me a little; I didn't know it was so awful to wake up in my arms. It was that look that made me a little on edge for the rest of the day.

I went into the bathroom quickly so I wouldn't have to deal with a conversation Katara would probably start. I also bathed quickly. The thought of a woman who didn't seem to fond of me on the other side of the wall really made me uncomfortable. Then, I realized I hadn't brought any clothes into the bathroom with me since I was lost in my thoughts. I wanted to hit my head against the wall; this day didn't seem to be getting off to a nice start. I pushed both my hands through my hair in frustration. Then, I wrapped a towel around me and open the door, determined to get to dresser and get back without even bothering to find Katara with my eyes.

But, of course I did, but her eyes didn't meet mine. She stared at my chest with a blank expression. I wanted to know what she thinking then. I hadn't really ever had a woman stare at me in admiration before. "Sorry," I mumbled as I quickly found my clothes with one hand while holding the towel securely around my waist. Not that I had anything to hide, I was just getting a little upset with these mixed emotions with the girl standing by the table.

Her stare followed me until I reached the door, and when I looked back, her head turned down to the table and I couldn't see her expression. I convinced myself I didn't care and changed quickly.

When I exited the bathroom fully clothed, I came with a towel that I rubbed against my dark hair to dry. "What are you doing?" I asked as I walked over to Katara, she was staring at a map she had spread out onto the table. She seemed afraid to make eye contact with me.

"Are we going here?" she asked a little confused. It was the map plans for our trip the next few days. She was pointing to a city in the Earth Kingdom that was now a Fire Nation colony.

"Yes, we'll be stopping there for supplies," I answered walking up beside her to study the map too. I'm not sure, but I think I heard her sniff me. When I looked at her face, she seemed a little flushed, but still stared down. How could I have smelled bad though, I had just bathed? I ignored the motion.

"What about here?" she asked pointing to where the black line stopped. The place where her small finger landed was another thing I was worried about. I stared at her perfectly shaped hand before continuing.

I threw the towel on the end of the table and leaned on it with my left arm. "We plan on heading out to sea and by that time I'm hoping the Avatar will come for you. I haven't come up with something yet, incase he doesn't come," I explained, a little ashamed that I didn't have my plans straight.

"Why out in the middle of the sea?" she asked her finger tracing the black line. For some reason I felt like her mind was somewhere else.

"I figured my odds with a fully armed ship against a flying pig are better than on land where the Avatar has all four elements to work with." I turned to look at her.

"Wait…" She started with a new expression in her eyes. You don't know what you'll do with me if he doesn't come?" she asked, her head shooting up and now she was finally looking at me.

"He should come by then," I answered.

"And if not?" she persisted.

"Then I'm wrong about the relationship you two have. And I'll have to find some other way to deal with you."

"Oh, so I'm too hard for you to deal with? Maybe you should just let me go here," she suggested pointing to the map, "Since you can't handle this little girl."

I leaned close into her so our faces were only a few inches a part, "You haven't seen half of what I'm capable of handling. The only reason you're being difficult for me is because I'm not treating you like you should be treated, like the prisoner you are. I'd be more humble if I were you."

She gave me a, "Humph," and sat down on the chair behind her legs. "Can I go back on deck?" she asked right as I was about to turn.

"I don't feel like saving you from another situation," I answered. I held my breath hoping she wouldn't catch on that I was thinking of more than one event I had to come to the rescue in.

She didn't. "Well maybe I don't want you to save me," she answered folding her arms across her chest.

This started to set me off and I shook my head thinking of all the things that would have happened to her, if I wasn't there. "Are you always this stubborn?" I yelled in frustration, instead of trying to put her on a guilt trip. I didn't want to accidentally bring anything up.

"Well I don't want to stay in here all day!" she answered waving her hands up. "Not that your Uncle's company isn't much more appealing than yours. I don't know how he can stand you and your mood swings!"

"My mood swings?" I stared, but I stopped myself, "Well you can just stay in here all day if you're going to act like this." Then I turned on my heel, grabbed my jacket and headed for the door.

"It's just going to get worse if you keep acting like-" but her angry voice got cut off as I slammed the door shut. I pulled my jacket on forcefully and straightened the collar. Just great, it smelled like her.

We were ambushed only a few hours later. I don't know how it happened and I was even more upset that my Captain hadn't seen them coming. They were traveling trough the air, not the sea though, and there was a Water Bender with them to give them cover by controlling the clouds hiding them. At first, I thought it was the Avatar, but it was just a Water Tribe boy, two Fire Benders, and three other skilled swordsmen. I didn't expect to see an Earth Bender, since there wasn't much earth to bend when you're surrounded by water.

Currently on my ship, my uncle and I were the only Fire Benders and I cursed myself for getting such an awful crew. There were about twenty of my men on the deck now and they were getting knocked down like children fighting. This only made me more upset as I sent two of the Fire Benders flying off of my ship.

When I drew out my swords and was about to go after a man, I quickly remembered I hadn't locked my door. What put this memory into my head was Katara, running on deck with a look of horror on her face. How could I possibly let something slip my mind? I was beyond control now.

I changed my direction and walked quickly towards the girl putting my swords back in place. This was the worst time for her to show up. My fists lit up as I saw her draw water from the sea and get in a fighting stance. She was going to help them.

She shifted her water into a ball and I threw a flame towards her. I was coming at her side so she didn't see it coming. Her water evaporated and she shook her hands in pain. I didn't care if I had burned her right now. Her eyes locked with mine and she moved her hands to call more water, I started to run. Before the water made it over the railing, I had her on the ground with a low kick.

"You should have stayed in the room," I gritted between my teeth. I'm not sure if she heard me because at the same time, I grabbed her up by the hair and back handed her across her cheek. She fell onto her fours and spit a red liquid, then stared back up at me with piercing eyes. She seemed even more determined now than she had the night I captured her. She started to pick up her hand, intended to get more water, but I placed my boot on top of it and pressed down hard. She screamed with pain and her other arm reached out to pull off my foot.

I grabbed her up by her hair again and turned around letting out a wave of fire with a sift swipe of my arm, catching two of the men with swords on fire that were heading towards with me. I turned before I saw what happened to them next. Katara tried to kick me and pull more water into her control. But I grabbed both of her hands behind her back and squeezed them tight making her shriek again. Her blood dripped down my wrist.

I used her hair to pull her head back and into her ear I ordered, "Don't you dare try anything like that again." She turned and spit in my face, but I continued to shove her downstairs and into my room. When she was release, she came after me again. I caught both of her wrists, but then realized she was aiming to do damage with her hands. Her knee swiftly came up between my legs, washing me over with a wave of pain. I pushed her to the ground before I feel to my knees.

"Filthy peasant," I yelled the insult at her again. Then I threw a fist of fire right by her feet making her jump back. I slowly stood up, still aching with pain and made it out into the hallway hurrying to make it back to battle, before we were defeated.

This time, I made sure to lock the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I couldn't waste time trying to come up with a reason not to return to my room. This time, I needed Katara. And as much as I didn't want to admit it, she was the only who'd be able to help me. I was foolish for thinking her forgiveness would be so easily gained.

As quickly as I opened the door, I was slammed against the wall across from where I once stood, drenched in water. There was so much force behind it; I was surprised it didn't feel like I broke something. My body slid down to the floor while I tried to make my vision clear. A tanned skin, beautiful young lady stood in front of me with an expression of revenge on her face. A little bit of gilt overtook my body.

She pulled the water covering my body back into her control and got into her stance. I knew that if I was going to get what I wanted, I wouldn't be able to fight back. "Katara please," I held up my hand hoping she wouldn't try anything as I stood up.

She quickly threw the water back at me. I expected to slide down the wall again, but I realized my body was getting very cold. She froze the water on top of me, around my arms and legs. I could have easily melted the water away, but I knew she needed to get her anger out.

She pulled more water from the ground and made it into a dagger and than walked swiftly up to my face. I kept my head high and stared her in the eyes. I wanted to know what she was thinking at the time, her eyes were so… blank. She must have hated me at that moment. I could tell she was so upset that I had hurt her, but I think she was most upset because she was here, with me, and not with the Avatar and her brother.

"Why aren't you fighting back?" she asked, holding to dagger to my throat. "Are you afraid?" she asked. This almost made me laugh, but I controlled myself.

I continued to meet her gaze. She must have healed any injuries she had because her skin was perfect and glowing. Noticing this made me think of my motive for coming to get her. I took a deep breath. "Katara, I'm sorry."

I noticed her hand drop a little bit; her jaw seemed to unclench too. "For what?" she asked. I wasn't expecting that. How would I be able to answer why I was sorry? All I knew was that I needed this water bender to help me before it was too late. But she continued, so I didn't have to worry about answering. "For imprisoning me? For making my life hell the past few days?" she tensed up again. I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. "For hurting me?" Were her eyes starting to get shinny? "Or for treating me like shit when I've done nothing wrong to you?"

Suddenly, a wave of guilt overwhelmed me. This girl was so powerful, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Thinking back to her blood dripping onto my arm, when I had held her by her throat, the vulnerable look in eyes, it all made me feel extremely sorry.

At first when I came down here, I didn't expect to mean my apology. But now, as a tear fell down her face, a feeling washed over me I had never felt before.

I heated the ice and the water fell to the ground, but she didn't stop me and I grabbed the dagger and melted it too. "There's nothing I can say to make my actions right," I started, taking a step towards her. "But please believe me when I say I'm sorry."

She just looked at me, clenching her teeth together. "I hate you," she finally let out.

And it hurt. I never would have expected this little girl to make me feel the way she just did, but she always had a way to surprise me.

My motive for coming to her quickly came into my head. I had to hurry. "I understand that, and I know you want nothing to do with me right now, but I need a favor."

Her expression didn't change. "My Uncle's wounded."

She worked so smoothly and with such grace. Of course, she had been willing to help Uncle. The only thing he had done to her since she had been here was show her hospitality and I think they both really enjoyed each other's company.

I leaned against the far wall of my Uncle's room watching her heal the large gash in my Uncle's torso. The last thing she had said to me was, "Where is he?"

I tried to stay quiet. I didn't want to disturb her, or make her upset. She still had this tense air about her, even as she worked peacefully. I ran a hand through my hair and then continued to watch. I couldn't get over how she worked with such elegance and ease.

"Who were they?" she asked me. Her voice didn't seem calm, even though her actions showed differently. I was afraid to talk while she was doing something so important, but I figured she wouldn't have asked if she didn't want to talk.

"Didn't you know?" I questioned back. I honestly had thought they were somehow partners with the Avatar since they were benders. Also, she tried to help them, so I figured she must have recognized them.

"No," she answered shortly.

"They must have just been a rebel group. They were well trained and probably found out whose ship this was, thinking they could take us on," I answered. I was very proud to say we had defeated them, since they were so skilled, but as I looked at my uncle I realized how great of a cost it was. "It was strange that a Water Bender was with Fire Benders though," I added. She didn't seem to want to make conversation; therefore, she didn't answer.

A few minutes later she bended the water back into a bowl and I noticed a long scar across Uncle's chest and down to his stomach. I wasn't sure how the incident had happened, I just knew that when I came back to the deck, he was laying there bleeding.

With so much rage inside of me, I took the rest out easily.

"He should be fine," Katara said and then walked out of my Uncle's room and headed back to mine.

I followed her, even though it seemed to make her upset, but I felt like I wouldn't be able to focus on anything else until I got her hating me off my mind. The only way to do that was to make her except my apology.

"Why did you try to help them?" I asked as I shut the door and turned to see her standing in the middle of the room looking at me with her arms crossed.

"What makes you think that?" she asked. Honestly, I just figured she was against me. I never really thought about another possibility until she said that.

"So… you were going to help me?" I asked walking towards her. That guilty feeling that made me sick came back again and felt like it was infesting in my throat. I tried to swallow it down, but it didn't go anywhere.

"I wasn't necessarily trying to help you," she answered, obviously trying to clear that up. Her voice had a sting in it that pierced me with every word, just because of the tone. "But I am on this boat in the middle of the sea. I didn't want it to sink."

"Well I assure you we can take care of anyone who tries to fight us without your help," I shot back. A little upset that she thought I was incapable of protecting her.

"Then why did your uncle get hurt?" she asked slyly raising an eyebrow.

"Because I was gone dealing with you." That was a bad thing to say. If I had to guess what she was thinking, it was that my Uncle being hurt was all her fault. I swallowed again.

"I didn't mean it like that," I walked up closer to her again, but she took a step back. "Because of you, he's alive right now." I took another step and tried to grab her arm to comfort her, another bad idea.

"Let go of me," she yelled pulling back her arm.

"Katara, please calm down. I'm not trying to hurt you," I reached for her again but now her arms flew up into the air, just missing my reach.

"Calm down?" she yelled. "You mean like you do?" She laughed a little. For her being a small girl, she was frightening me a little bit just because she seemed so out of character at the moment. I've seen her mad, but now she just looked… crazy. "I think I have every right not to be calm right now!" and with that, she stomped her foot down.

"I know you do," I said smoothly, "But please relax." I wanted to reach for her again, but I was afraid of her reaction.

"Why? I want out of here. I want away from you. I want to be with Sokka and Aang! They actually care about me, and treat me right. I'm sick of you and your mood swings!"

I tried finding the right words. I wanted to comfort her, and I wanted to change how I had acted towards her. But, "I'm sorry," is all that could leave my lips.

She laughed again. "You tell your men how to treat a lady and you don't even know yourself. The only think you know is violence. You are a selfish, heartless person and you don't even deserve the name _Prince_," she spat at me.

Then I grabbed her, gently, but with enough force to be able to control her body. I pushed her down to sit on to the bed as I suddenly realized my actions from early. Quickly, my words just started coming out of my mouth as I kneeled in front of her. "When the battle started, I was sure of two things: that we had to win and that you were to stay protected. I understand that you're independent but I felt as though you were my responsibility and I needed to keep you out of harm's way," I looked down as I said my next sentence, "Although, I think I did more damage than good." My eyes connected with hers again. I wished so bad that I could tell what was going through her mind.

"I don't think you'll be able to forgive me, but please understand… I haven't lived with a woman, in well, years. And I have such a short temper and sometimes it just gets the best of me. I never meant to hurt you; I only wanted to keep you safe. Just seeing you up there, in harm's way, I... Katara I need you to accept my apology because it's going to kill me every second you don't. Every minute I know you hate me, I… I don't know what I'll do. You just have this... thing," was the only way I could describe it.

She bit her lip and looked down. I didn't know what that meant, but for some reason, it made her look so cute. "Why would you want to protect me? I'm your prisoner."

That's when I did it. The one thing I never thought I'd ever do in this life. I kissed Katara. There was just something about how she asked me that. Something in the tone of her voice that called to me. I brought my head and pressed my lips against hers before she had a chance to protest. I pressed into it, loving the numbness that was coming over my body. My stomach flipped as she kissed me back.

But, as soon as it had started, it seemed to have stop. Even though I was craving for more, she pulled away, and I let her go.

"I'm sorry," I quickly apologized. I felt like I had just done something terribly wrong, and in a way, I did.

"I just… I don't know what I'm feeling right now," she explained looking down. I stood back up and turned to leave the room. Even though I knew I shouldn't have kissed her, a smile crept across my face. I stopped when I reach the door, leaning my hand against the frame. I needed to stop moving for a second, my head was still spinning. Her lips were so soft, I couldn't get the feeling away.

"Are you okay?" I heard her sweet voice ask from across the room.

This made me laugh a little bit. "How can you be concerned about me?" I asked. That made me so happy, but I didn't turn around to show her my smile. She would be the one to think about someone's feelings who had just practically beat her senseless and then kissed her when it seemed totally inappropriate.

"Where are you going?" she asked, changing the subject.

I still smiled. "To visit Uncle."

"When will you be back?"

"When do you want me back?" I asked, holding my breath for the answer.

"I don't care," she answered.

"Soon," I answered, my grin stretching. Even if she only wanted me back so she wasn't alone, I wasn't about to let myself admit that.

I entered into my room very soon. I had sat in my Uncle's room staring at his unconscious body thinking of what he would tell me right now as I tried to wait out the time. I couldn't come back too soon. I thought that if she had accepted my apology, I'd be able to concentrate, but now it was worse. When my Captain came in, I didn't even hear a word he said. I simply nodded and told him he as the best judgment and then he left with a confused look. I was hoping they thought I was distraught over my Uncle, not the Waterbender, which they now all knew about her capabilities.

Katara was sitting on the bed, under the covers with only one lamp still lit. Her face was down and she was staring at her fingers in deep thought. She didn't even look up at me when I entered. I couldn't remember the last time either of us ate, but I had a strange feeling she wasn't interested in food at the moment. I kicked off my shoes and slide my shirt off while I walked to the bed. I sat down next to her under the covers.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. It was the only thing I could think of saying.

"Emotionally or physically?" she asked. She must have been worn-out from all of things that had been happening to her today.

"Both," I finally answered.

She tried to give a weak smile and then her eyes got suddenly wet. I didn't realize how much stress had been put on her. Before I knew it, her head was in my lap and the blanket was getting soaked in tears. I ran my hands through her hair, not saying anything. I couldn't think of anything to say for one. I never had to really deal with crying girls before, and I felt as though if she wanted to say something to me, she would.

I bended the flame away from the last lamp and moved down into a laying position, moving Katara's head up to my chest. She moved her hand up to my shoulder and gripped onto my skin as she violently cried. I moved my left hand up and she then squeezed my fingers. I continued running my right hand through her long brown hair as I stared down at her.

For some reason, I felt at ease and very peaceful. Even though this girl was crying, she was crying on me and looking at me for comfort. I was more than willing to give it to her. Being needed by this beautiful Water Tribe girl somehow satisfied me.

She fell asleep a while later, but I still continued running my hand through her hair and playing with her fingers. I fell asleep a long while after she did, but I enjoyed every second I was awake for.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

In the morning, we were at the dock of a Fire Nation Colony. I gently pulled Katara off of my body, and carefully placed her on the bed. As I got up and felt accomplished that she hadn't awoken, but then, there was an inpatient knock at the door, ruining my hard work.

I walked over to open it as I heard Katara turn over in the bed. The door revealed one of my men. "Yes?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"We've reached port, Prince," he answered firmly.

"I know," I responded. It was obvious by the change in scenery outside of my window, and that the ship had stopped swaying as much.

He stood there as is he didn't know what to say. Then stuttered out, "The Captain told me to inform you."

"Is that all?" I asked, tapping my fingers against the door.

"He also asked me to give you this," he said holding out a package wrapped in a thin white cloth. I had almost forgotten. "What you asked for us to get when we reached the town."

I grabbed the enclosed material and thanked him, and then he scurried off awkwardly. It made me smile when people were intimidated by me. I looked over to the bed to see that Katara had rolled over and dosed off again, reminding me that some had control over my own self. I placed the package at the foot of the bed for her to find when she awoke.

Then, I bathed and got ready quietly. I left without disturbing her and went to eat breakfast and visited Uncle in his bedroom.

When I walked in the room, he was still asleep, I felt strange for being the only one seemingly to be up and ready. I laid a hand on his shoulder and his eyes slowly opened. "Uncle."

"Prince Zuko," he said sitting up with my help. He had a confused look on his face. "What happened yesterday?"

"You were wounded badly, Uncle. But, Katara healed you."

"Healed me?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Yes," I answered. "She can heal with her Waterbending. It's amazing. You owe your life to her."

"It was that bad," he stated, looking like he was thinking, "What an extraordinary girl," then he looked back up at me, "You know, you two have a lot in common."

I ignored this comment and stood up straight. "I'm glad you're feeling better. We've reached port. Maybe you should stay in bed for the morning though," I said, then headed towards the door.

"No, I feel great!" he told me, then I turned back to look at him. "I need to find a way to thank the girl."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," I told him, and then left.

I got a tray of food for Katara's breakfast and headed back to my room. I tried not to think of my Uncle's comment of how we were similar. I still couldn't see how I was anything like her. But, I felt like I had some strange pull towards her, and that make me think of my lips against hers. I started to crave the feeling.

I opened the door to Katara in a beautiful red dress. It had a somewhat low cut top, but not too revealing. It hugged her waist and then flowed out to her feet. There was a darker red sash across her waist and the material overlapped on her left thigh, so if she moved her leg up, her skin would show. It wasn't a common outfit, but not one too nice.

I realized I was staring when a smile spread across her lips and then I broke my gaze. "The dress fits you nice," I stated, setting the food down and adverting my gaze.

"Thank you, it's beautiful," she commented back, still grinning. A bit of blush spread across her cheeks, and I could feel mine getting hot. "I guess this means I'm getting off the ship?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered meeting her eyes.

She beamed, "Really? You're going to let me!" It seemed as if she had forgotten about last night, or she was just ignoring it.

"If you behave," I answered. I didn't want her thinking this was her chance to escape.

She gave me a look which made me feel as if I should change the subject. I walked over to the bed where the jewelry for her laid. "Put these on," I told her.

I handed her the red necklace with a gold pendant on it. She put her hand up the blue necklace around her neck. "You can't wear that," I told her.

"I know," she said reaching back to take it off. It held it out. "Will you keep it safe?" She asked slowly with hesitation.

I was a little stunned at the request. "Of course," I told her and placed it in my pocket. Then I took the red cloth choker and placed it around her neck.

"Thank you," she said rubbing it to get the new feel. I handed her the bracelets and she slid them on. She would make a beautiful Fire Nation girl.

As we walked into the town, Katara's arm was wrapped around mine tightly. I made sure to keep her close to me so she didn't wonder off. Her big blue eyes darted across everything so quickly I thought she was going to get dizzy, but I continued to lead her without a problem.

"Have you ever been to the colonies?" I asked into her ear leaning down a bit.

She shook her head. "It's amazing how many people live here. They're all from the Fire Nation?" she asked.

"Some are from the Earth Kingdom. They just look like they're Fire Nation while they live here. Most the people here don't really go by Fire Nation ways though and aren't really for the war, but they're still under my father's rule," I explained looking across the people. The colonies were supposed to be frowned upon in my eyes, but it seemed like people were much happier here.

Katara smiled as she saw the lively people and the busy shops. We got to a point where my Captain stopped me claiming he had important things to talk about. I turned to Katara, tugging at her arm to get her attention.

"Here," I said handing her a red silk bag with money in it. "Go ahead and look around, just don't cause any trouble," I told her. Her eyes widened with surprise.

"I don't want any money," she said in return.

"Just take it, incase you do find something you want." I pushed the bag into her hand and let go of her arm. For some reason I felt nervous and I took a deep breath. But, she gave me a smile and headed off.

I turned to the man as he started rambling on about things we needed. Out of the corner of my eye, I kept a close look on Katara until she disappeared into a store. I was telling myself she wouldn't try to escape, but I still slightly didn't believe that.

After I while of nodding and pretending I was listening, I interrupted my Captain, "I trust that you know what you're doing," and then I turned and left with his mouth still open ready to continue. What my ship needed right now, wasn't on my mind. Besides, my men should know what we need and what needs to be fixed from the battle. They didn't need my help.

I walked quickly over to the store Katara was in. I didn't want her to be alone now. The crowd was easy to get through too; I was used to weaving through people with how crowded the Fire Nation is.

When I entered the store, I thought maybe I had gone into the wrong place. It was a jewelry store and the shop keeper was sitting by a table reading some paper. I was about to turn around when I heard someone yell, "Stop!" It was Katara's voice.

I quickly walked to the back of the store towards a shelf. "I found you! The Avatar will give me great praise when I return you to him." I walked faster. There was a strange feeling in my chest. Somehow, this man knew Katara, but I had a fear that all he was worried about was getting himself known. I had a feeling he would hurt her too.

I turned around to face the man pulling on her wrist and she was pulling back. "Let me-" she started, but stopped as her eyes met mine.

The thing about Katara is that she's so nice. Of course she wouldn't be as violent with this man to get away as she would with me. We both also knew no bending could be done here. Neither of us wanted a scene, and here no one knew us. Well, except for this man it seemed.

The man's back was to me and I grabbed his arm and yanked him around. This seemed strangely familiar. It seemed like Katara got into a lot of trouble with men. "Let her go!" I ordered and he fell to the floor from either surprise or from loss of balance when I turned him around.

I was about to repeat my same routine, when I glance at Katara and stopped because of the look in her eyes. For some reason, the pleading expression she had really hit me, and I had to stop. I took a deep breath, still raging, and grabbed her arm. She followed me without at word as I walked quickly. Before I left I said to the shop keeper, "You should keep a better watch on your store," through my teeth.

I dragged the Waterbender behind me a while down the road before I stopped, feeling a little bit more calm. There were less people here, so I didn't feel as overwhelmed. "I should have imprisoned that man," I said looking at the ground clenching my teeth.

"What? Why?" Katara asked.

I still didn't meet her eyes. "He could have hurt you. Right now he's under the Fire Nation and was foolish to try and take something that's mine. I should have taught him a lesson."

"Wait," Katara said. Her voice had changed, but I couldn't exactly tell how she felt. I still didn't want to look at those eyes, they were too controlling. "Yours?"

"You know what I mean," I said. I didn't want to start a fight with her; I knew it would get ugly because I was already upset.

She then put a hand on my cheek and pulled my face, forcing me to look at her. "Thank you for not hurting that man," she said. I still couldn't tell how she felt about me calling her mine, but she didn't seem too angry about it now.

I couldn't help but give her a small smile. The feeling of her acceptance washed over me with surprise. I was shocked at this feeling. Or maybe, it was because this beautiful girl didn't hate me at that moment that really made me feel so strange. Katara always looks so beautiful when she didn't look like she wanted to kill me.

Then, she quickly leaned forward and kissed me on my cheek. When she leaned back, I pulled her into a hug. I just wanted to wrap my arms around her, knowing that she was safe there. Well, no, honestly I wanted to press my lips against hers, but a hug would suffice. I also wanted to hide the blush creeping onto my cheeks.

I let my grip loosen off of her a little sooner than I would have liked. "Come on," I said holding out my arm for her to take. "Uncle probably wants to see you."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Uncle joined us for the next few hours as we shopped for things for Katara, and the unnecessary things he wanted. I bought almost everything Katara set eyes on, because I knew she would never ask me to buy her anything she wanted. But, I knew she needed clothes because the ones she had she couldn't wear everyday, and I could tell she didn't really like wearing men's clothing. I also bought her some jewelry, simply because I liked the smile she had and the words, "Thank you," that would come from her mouth. It wasn't like I didn't have money to spare anyways. I feel like the Avatar could have never provided this for her. But then… why was I comparing us?

When it was getting around dinner time, Uncle assured us he knew the best place to go eat and have some "fun" but, it was of course a secret. At least this surprise would make Katara happy, and at the moment, that was all I cared about. Which was a strange new feeling, and I wasn't sure if I liked it yet. I felt kind of afraid of it.

As we walked to this mysterious place, Katara and I kind of trailed behind as Uncle continued to tell the story of how he knew so much of this colony. The sun was setting and it was causing this beautiful glow on Katara's face. I couldn't help but to keep glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. I think she may have noticed because a smile started to grace her lips.

I noticed how close we were walking when our hands brushed together. Her warm fingers continued to lightly touch mine which reminded me of last night when I held her hand as she slept. She had the softest skin.

Then, I took a risk. I slid my fingers in between hers and held her hand tight. She tightened hers around mine and then suddenly let go, like she realized what she was doing. This made me a little upset, and now, I didn't want to ignore it. "Why can't I hold your hand?" I whispered into her ear, so Uncle wouldn't hear it.

It took her a little bit to answer. "I just don't know what I want," she answered. I was upset because she was confusing me. She made me feel like she wanted to show affection toward me, but whenever I made a move, she'd pull back. It was frustrating.

"I just don't see the harm in it," I stated, but she still just kept this expression on her face that she was concentrating.

Then, Uncle turned into a building. "Here we are!" he said excitedly. We walked into a loud environment. It wasn't crowded, but there were a lot of people. There were tables set up on the three walls and a floor in the middle that was open. There was a stage on the back wall that had people playing music on it. On the open floor, people were dancing.

"Dancing?" I asked Uncle. Dancing in the Fire Nation was done by people of royalty, not common people on a night for pure pleasure.

"This is the colonies!" Uncle explained waving up his arms. I noticed he had a big grin on his face, so did the Waterbender next to me. I grabbed onto Katara's arm in fear of loosing her in the noise and people. As we started to walk towards a table, she wiggled her arm out of my grip and pulled her hand up to wrap around mine. This gesture caused a smile on my face to join with the others.

I gave her a questioning look, but with a smirk. "I guess it doesn't hurt," she answered giving me a grin.

I was glad she was happy. Actually, I was glad we were both happy, together. As we sat down, a waitress appeared. She seemed a little too bubbly. But we ordered some drinks and Katara seemed to have her eyes on the people dancing to the upbeat music.

"Do you like dancing, Katara?" Uncle asked. I figured he must have seen this as a way to repay her.

"I… I don't really know how to," she answered, looking a bit embarrassed.

This made Uncle laugh. "Dancing is something you can't really learn. You just let your body move to the music. But Zuko is an experienced man in dancing if you're looking for a teacher."

Katara blushed. "Uncle," I warned. I never enjoyed dancing, but I had leaned how to when I was younger, without choice. I didn't know how to dance to this kind of music or this way. All I knew was official, ancient dances we had to know for balls at the palace.

As we ate, Katara's eyes stayed glued to the floor, but I didn't want to dance. It was never something I was fond of and I was a little upset that the way she looked at them made me feel guilty that I didn't want to join her on the floor.

Then, Uncle stood up. "Come Katara, this old man still has a little bit of rhythm in him and I'm growing tired of you staring at those dancers so eagerly."

"Oh thank you, Uncle. But, I can't," Katara answered looking shy.

"I insist. It will make me more than happy to have a beautiful lady join me for a dance," he said. She stood up giving in and took his hand. They headed down the few steps to the floor. I was curious to see how talented each of them was.

Of course she was amazing, and this only made me want her more. She had an amazing body and was wonderful at moving it. It seemed like the way she flowed was similar to how she did when she would water bend. After a while, a younger man stepped over and talked to Uncle, he nodded and now Katara was holding this man's hand as they danced.

I wasn't upset because I thought he would hurt her, or that I'd have to go save her. I felt… jealous. This possessive feeling made me stand up. When I looked over to find Uncle, he was smiling and staring at me. I didn't like how my… attraction towards Katara amused him. He was a silly old man and it was now his fault that I was in the predicament.

I made my way down and walked up behind Katara. As I got closer, I got a better look at the man and realized he was rather handsome, which made me a little bit more upset. I ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath. Then, when he spun her out, I grabbed her hand and pulled her to my chest. She looked up at me with surprised, but seemed be glad it was me who she was up against.

She started to move against my body and I moved in sync with her. I gave a glance to the man who had her before as he gave me a glare. It only made me happier to have her in my arms. I didn't know what I was doing, but the way she danced made me feel as though this was something I did all the time. I never thought I would have ever liked dancing.

She continued to move around me as I moved my hands down to her hips. She had such nice features and they showed off under the lights. I couldn't believe that she said she didn't know how to dance. When she spun around, I pulled her back up close to me so our faces were just inches apart. The pull to her lips I was feeling was even stronger and I leaned my forehead against hers to keep myself from kissing her again. I was afraid it would ruin our good time.

Her body was warm against mine and I realized that she was getting a bit sweaty and out of breath. I wrapped my arms around her as she continued to sway. "You're pretty good," I told her.

She smiled. "It helps when you have a handsome man to dance with." I was surprised by this comment. I didn't really know what to think of it. Katara never had really called me good looking before, and it just never seemed like that would come out of her mouth. I thought about the guy she was dancing with before. I started to wonder if she thought I was better looking than him. The thought of someone thinking I was attractive with the scar I had on my face surprised me and gave me a new respect for her.

I realized how deeply I was thinking about one sentence she said and pulled away from her. "Let's go get a drink," I said. She nodded and took my hand as I led her up the steps to the bar. I was glad she was now willingly taking her hand in mine. My chest sank every time she touched me.

When we went up to the bar my Uncle met us there and handed us two cups of a liquid that looked like cold tea. I smelled it before I took a sip, and knew what it was. I knew my Uncle had had a lot of it before and as an affect, thought everything was funny. I hoped he wasn't trying to get me drunk by giving this to me.

"You don't have to drink it if you don't want to," he said to Katara. She seemed to know what it was too.

"Oh no, thank you," she answered, sipping more of it. This was the only tea I actually liked the taste of, so, I gulped down the whole glass.

"I figured it would only make the mood better," Uncle explained with a smile. I sighed, but smiled. Sometimes, he needed to be a little bit more serious, but for right now I just ignored it.

I chuckled a little bit when I noticed the disgusted look on Katara's face, but she took more of it. I guess it did burn a little bit.

"So do you like that place?" Uncle asked looking at Katara.

She nodded. "Yes, thank you for bringing me here. I didn't know Zuko could be so much fun." She said smiling and nudging me with her shoulder.

"Come on," I said holding out my hand. "Let's go back."

She smiled and took it, holding her drink in the other hand and followed me back to floor, ready to sway and dance along side me.

Katara started to laugh and fell onto me again as we walked. I grabbed her arm and balanced her onto her feet again as I smiled in disbelief. Her laugh was just a beautiful as her face and I could tell that tea had gotten to her.

My Uncle had headed back earlier and now it was just us two walking down the road to the ship. Katara was walking barefoot with her shoes we had bought a few hours ago in her hand while I carried a bottle of tea I was finishing off.

"Your Uncle is so funny," she said, finishing off a story he had told her earlier. It honestly wasn't that funny, but I wasn't about to tell her that.

"I think it's time for you to get some sleep," I told her.

She lifted her arms and spun around. "But I'm wide awake. And the moon looks so beautiful," she told me meeting my eyes. "Come on, let's go to the water."

She grabbed onto my hand and pulled me to the beach next to the docks, giggling the whole way. Her laugh was contagious. As we walked to the water she collapsed onto the sand, pulling me down with her. I laid down and put my hands behind my head. I might as well go along with whatever she wanted, it wouldn't hurt her. Then, I felt her place her head between my chest and shoulder and look up at the sky.

"The moon looks beautiful," she repeated.

"You already said that," I told her. She laughed a little bit.

"You're really warm Zuko," she told me as she turned onto her stomach and leaned up on her hands to look at me.

I turned my head to see her better. "I'm a Fire Bender."

"Can I ask you something?"

"You kind of just did," I answered smiling. I hadn't been this playful and carefree in a long time.

She ignored this and I sat up to take another drink. "Why are you after the Avatar?"

She sat up as I started to think. I could explain to her the whole story, but I didn't see the point in it. I brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "It's just something I have to do."

"You know, he's only trying to help," Katara said. Her big blue eyes looked so bright in the night. She had those long eyelashes that would convince people of anything.

"I know," I answered.

"So what's the point in it? Why don't you just join him? Join me?" she added placing her hand on top of mine.

"When I capture the Avatar, I can return home," I explained.

She looked up at me, thinking over what I was saying. I wasn't sure how much of what I was saying really meant anything because of the state she was in though. But she seemed coherent.

"And what's left for you at the Fire Nation? Just mean old Fire Nation Kings," she said. This did make laugh a little though. "Why not make a new home?" she asked taking my hand in both of hers now and running her fingers over it like she was studying it.

I didn't answer this because she honestly brought up a good point. I just let her touch my skin until I finally stood up and finished off the bottle. "Come on," I said. She grabbed my hand and I pulled her up. She tripped a little and I pulled her to my chest. It was kind of cute when she didn't have good balance. But, as soon as she was in my arms, she was out of them again and heading towards the water. I followed behind her to make sure she didn't trip and drown. I was always so worried of her safety now.

She stepped in the water so the waves came up to her ankles. Then, she started to bend the water around her which scared me at first. The only time she bent water was in a defense against me, or to heal wounds that were my fault. Then she started spinning slowly in circles which calmed me down. I watched her as she moved. I wasn't sure how she could look so amazing some times, but it made my heart sink. It seemed like she was dancing, without the music. I walked into the water and she dropped what she was bending so I could walk up to her.

She let me put my hands around her waist and pull her close to me. "You're beautiful Katara," I admitted.

She blushed and smile. Then, as she opened her mouth to say something, I pushed mine against her lips and started to kiss her. This time, she didn't push away. I deepened the kiss, wanting more. My body felt numb as I tightened my grip around her and she kissed me back. I didn't want this moment to ever end, but she pulled away, gasping for air.

She looked at me and smiled with no regret in her eyes. That made me feel even better. I ran my hand through her hair while I pressed her against my chest and she laid her head on my shoulder. Then, she yawned, and it made me forget about any worries I had. It was such a small thing that made me so happy. She made me feel real, and alive, and wanted, and I loved all of it.

"Are you tired now?" I asked. She nodded her head and smiled. I took her hand and headed her back to the boat, grabbing her shoes that she had left on the sand. She walked slowly and leaned her head against my shoulder, but we eventually made it back to my room.

"It's probably going to get hot tonight," I said as I leaned her down into a sitting position on my bed. "And you should change out of the dress," I walked over to my dresser and dropped her shoes by it. Then, I found one of my short sleeved black shirts in a drawer and tossed it to her. "You can wear that." I figured that would be all she would need. From what she wore before, I knew my shirt came down low on her, like a dress. When we were shopping, that was one thing we forgot to buy, some night clothes.

She yawned again and collapsed on the bed with her arms wide out. I smiled and walked over. "Come on Katara. Go change and then you can sleep. That won't be comfortable." I said looking down at the dress.

"Fine," she said getting up. I expected her to head to the bathroom but before I even had time to turn around, her dress was off. Her wrappings weren't revealing I was just surprised at how comfortable she was in front of me. Of course, I could help to stare and as she was about to put on my shirt, she glanced at me and laughed. I quickly felt shameful, like I shouldn't have been watching but her laugh made it seem like it was okay. As she changed, I took off my shoes and placed them by Katara's. Then, I took her clothes we had bought and put them into a drawer I had open.

When I turned around, Katara stretched her arms up and I quickly realized how short my shirt was on her. She probably didn't realize, or care, because of how tired and tipsy she was. I tried to keep it to myself, but I couldn't help but to stare as she climbed into bed. Her legs were perfect. I felt like she was just taunting me now.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. After I pulled my shirt over my head, I put all the lamps out. Before getting into bed I took a deep breath trying to calm the reactions she had just made me feel. I climbed into bed, feeling as though I shouldn't get too close to her. In the dark, I felt her come and climb on top of me. This time, she didn't just lie on my chest; she put her whole body on top of mine and rested her head on my chest. She did this very clumsily and finally collapsed on me. At first, I wasn't sure what to do, but then I put my arms on her back and started to trace my fingers along her spine under the shirt, finding peace in touching her skin.

Katara fell asleep quickly, and even though I had a girl lying completely on top of my body, I fell asleep too. This day was perfect and the Waterbender lying on me was the reason why. I wrapped my arms around her; I didn't want her to ever leave. But I knew, one day, the Avatar would come and take her away from me. That's what scared me the most now.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

I woke up quickly and my arms went around Katara's body hastily. I realized I was in a sweat, not sure of whether it was because of the heat or the reason that I woke up so soon. Katara, surprisingly, didn't wake up. I took a deep breath, but tried to control how much my chest was moving since she was still sound asleep on top of me.

I had a nightmare. It was dark and stormy while I started to chase after Katara. She ended at the top of a cliff over the sea. When I shouted her name, she turned to look at me, a smile spreading across her face. But, as soon as she looked at me, it appeared as if something pulled her off the rocks. I ran after her. She was holding on to the ledge with one hand and I grabbed onto it, trying to pull her back up. No matter how hard I pulled, it seemed like… the water was pulling her back. Eventually, she slipped from my grasp and the white dress around her body started to flow as she fell.

That's when I woke up. I pulled my arms tighter into the embrace around Katara. I didn't want to loose her, and I hated that. I wish I would have known I would feel like this about her a week ago when I captured her. Then I would have gone for the Water Tribe boy… or would I? I didn't know what to think, but I was sure that I didn't like this confusion. I've always been a man that knew exactly what he wanted and how to get it. But now, I didn't know how to keep it. My past has shown me I'm rather good at losing things and people.

I sighed. Her hair smelled so good and I didn't want to let her go. I never knew having a woman in your arms would feel so good, so right. But, I knew I needed to get up and get ready. So, I slide Katara off of me. She flinched a little, but seemed to still be asleep.

I took a bath. I needed to relax. For some reason, I was so upset that I really was falling for Katara. I mean, she was the enemy, but I didn't want her to leave, and that really bothered me. I shouldn't be acting like this.

I got dressed. I tried to keep my mind off of it and left to meditate. After, I went back to my room to see if Katara was up. I told my Captain we would spend another day here. We still needed some repairs, and I knew Katara liked this town, so I figured one more day wouldn't hurt. Hopefully, one more day here would mean one more I would have with her.

I opened the door. She wasn't on the bed, and even though I had left the door unlocked, I knew she wasn't trying to escape. The bathroom door was shut and I heard the faint sound of water moving. I tried not to think of her bathing as I sat down to stare at a map. The last thing I needed was more desire.

The bathroom door slowly opened. I shot my head up, glad to not try and make sense of the drawings laid in front of me anymore. I cursed at myself for looking up. Not only did this show that I was waiting for her, I was met with a sight that made me gulp.

"I found it in the drawer," Katara said. She was in my robe I never wore. It was made from silk and came up short on her legs. The cut down her neck was low and showed her beautiful brown skin. Her body was so perfect; there was nothing I didn't want about her.

She gave me a strange look and I realized I hadn't said anything. "That's fine. I don't use it," I explained. The only thing I ever really needed to wear was a shirt and pants.

"It kind of like it," she said playing with one of the silk ropes that tied around her tiny waist. I wish she wouldn't have done that. She looked so cute, looking down at her hands. Her hair was down and fell into her face, and her eyes were still sparkling. As much as I wanted to look away, I couldn't let myself.

Luckily, there was a knock at the door. Katara became alert and pulled her robe closer over her chest. It flattered me that she didn't mind showing her skin in front of me, but at the same time, I realized she must be afraid it was someone from the crew. That made me a little upset to think back to what I let my men do to her, even without my consent.

I opened the door with Katara's eyes on my motion behind me. "Hello Uncle," I greeted the elderly man in front of me.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed the girl behind me perk up. He smiled at me, "I was wondering if Katara would like to join me for lunch. I know the perfect place."

Katara walked up beside me. Uncle got an expression on his face at seeing what she was in, and I'm not sure if I liked it. I could tell he was thinking that we had maybe done something, which was completely wrong. He would at least be curious as to why I had our beautiful prisoner walking around in something revealing, even though I couldn't see anything, it was not something to be worn in public.

"I actually wanted to talk to you this morning," Katata's lovely voice said. I was suspicious as to why.

"Well go get dressed Katara, and then I'll take you to this wonderful restaurant," Uncle said. "They have great tea," he added.

I was also wondering why I wasn't invited, but maybe it was best. I guess Uncle did want some time to thank Katara, and if Katara wanted to talk to Uncle, I had a strange feeling she didn't want me listening in on the conversation.

Katara smiled at Uncle and then met eyes with me, grinning bigger. I couldn't help but to return the pull of lips. She controlled my emotions so easily and it made me so happy to see how she was enjoying herself here. She quickly headed to the bathroom, right after she grabbed a few things from my dresser. Shamefully, I watched her bend over to get them. For some reason, I couldn't help myself today. Any other time you placed a beautiful girl in my room, I would have cared less, but today I felt different. Today, I let my eyes wander, even though I shouldn't have.

Uncle cleared his throat and I turned to meet him, glad he took me out of my gaze. He gave me a smile. "I'll be waiting on the deck," he told me, then turned and left.

I leaned my head up against the door when I saw that he was out of the hallway. I shut my eyes, thinking of what I should do. I just wished she didn't have this effect on me, or that it wasn't so obvious to Uncle. I hit my fist gently against the doorframe lightly in frustration as I raised my head. My mind just wasn't making itself up.

Katara came out of the bathroom, dressed in Fire Nation clothes. Her hair was left down, and I was glad because I liked it best that way. She started slipping on some jewelry as she walked up to me. "Do you still have my necklace?" she asked, looking down at her bracelet.

I nodded. I had put it my dresser so I wouldn't have lost it. We left and walked up to the deck. The whole way, I didn't know what to do with my hands. A few days ago, I would have tightly held on to her upper arm, but last night, I grasped onto her hand. I could tell my pace quickened because of my confusion. I didn't know how Katara felt, because I tried not to look over at her.

I was relieved when Katara rushed over to Uncle. It surprised me how much they got along, even though he was a rather likable person, until he starts to tell you what to do.

Uncle came up to me with a grin. "We'll be at Cozo's," he said to me. I knew where the place was, it was a nice restaurant, and one of Uncle's favorites apparently due to his stories.

I nodded. "We should be done by noon. You can meet us there," he added. I nodded again trying to think of what I would do to keep Katara off my mind in that time. Before they turned, Katara turned back and looked at me as if she was going to say something. As we met eyes, I saw her blush, and then she quickly turned back.

I walked down the busy street. The sun was high in sky. I had tried to keep myself busy practicing, but I found myself craving to get into the town. Now, I walked, with a box in my hand, to the place where I would find Katara.

As I came up to the restaurant, the people sitting on the bench caught my eye. They must have been waiting for me.

"Zuko!" I heard Katara's voice call as she waved her hand. I noticed a couple people turn and look at me. Some of the Fire Nation people recognized my name I'm sure, but perhaps not my face. I turned my head down, just incase.

I walked up and swiftly held the wooden box to Katara. She had a confused look on her face. "What's this?" she asked. I wasn't very good at giving presents, or surprises.

"Just take it," I ordered, trying to be kind. She took the box with both hands, since it was a little large, still with confusing. Uncle was smirking. As she opened it, her face beamed.

When I went into town, I stopped at a shop. There, I bought a pair of shoes. I felt a little bad that it was my fault she had lost her other one, and the sandals we had got her weren't very high quality. It was a simple gift too; they were just simple shoes that she could slip-on. They were made out of a red fabric with a golden design embroidered into it.

Katara threw off her sandals and put on the new scarlet shoes and walked around to try them out. "They're so comfortable," she said. Then she came up and threw her arms around my neck. "Thank you so much, Zuko," she said. Before I could enjoy the embrace, she pulled away. "I wish you'd stop buying me things."

"They look good on you," I told her, ignoring her comment. I had tons of money I didn't even use, so I didn't mind.

Uncle exchanged a smile with Katara. "Yes, you look very beautiful in those," he added. "Now," Uncle turned to me, "Katara and I were talking and we thought a day at the beach sounds wonderful."

It didn't sound too good for me. Going to the beach seemed… useless, like it was a waste of time. But I nodded.

"Do you not want to go?" Katara asked, her face still glowing.

"Whatever you want," I answered. I honestly had no preference as to what we did today. It was already half over, and I just wanted to spend time with the Waterbender in front of me.

Uncle sat up. "Let's go."

I watched the young girl excitedly make her way into the water as I stood on the beach. Uncle was already lying down in the sun and Katara's clothes were gathered at my feet. Surprisingly, she quickly undressed into her undergarments like she was used to it. I stared at how her dark waist contrasted with her white waist band as she started to bend the water around her. It reminded me of last night, except now, she was further away me.

"Come on Zuko," her voice called as she turned around.

I opened my mouth to protest. I rather of just watched her as I sat on the sand. I wasn't much of a go swim in the water and splash around guy.

"Zuko," she persisted. I sighed and pulled off my shirt as I heard Uncle laugh beside me. I kept my pants on as I walked into the water. Without warning, I was hit with a wave of water and became quickly drenched.

"What was that for?" I shouted spitting out the saltwater. Katara laughed.

"You need to loosen up," she answered and pulled on my hand. The warmth of her skin called me to follow her as she dragged me in deeper. She started to bend water as I stood and watched with awe. "Water relaxes me," she added.

I smiled. "Do you ever wish you could bend something besides fire?" Katara asked, dropping her water and stepping toward me.

I had never really thought about that before. It had always been just bending fire for me, and no other possibilities, so I suppose it had never crossed my mind. "I don't know," I started, "I mean, fire is so powerful, yet so dangerous. With water," I reached down and put my hand in the ocean, thinking of what it would be like if I could bend water. "It's gentler."

"But fire gives life and warmth," Katara argued. I thought of every night we had laid in bed so close, for my excuse of the coldness.

"It destructs just as easily. But, it's what I have control of and I bend with pride," I told her. She smiled at this and went back to her bending.

"I think you need to have some fun." She simply stated, her white smile gleaming.

Katara and I spent the rest of the day as I was forced into her games. She showed me how to surf with an ice board she had made and created waves for me. I was pretty good at it; it was just strange to have someone want me to enjoy myself so much. It was fun though. She had me make sandcastles with her and do other Waterbending tricks as Uncle watched. Surprisingly, I couldn't remember the last time I had this much fun. Not since I was with my mother.

When it was getting dark, I gathered some wood that was washed up and dried out and lit a little bonfire.

"Do you want to go somewhere to eat?" I asked Katara as I sat down. She laid into the sand across from me.

"I am hungry," she responded. She rolled over to face me, "Maybe we could go dancing again."

"We could go see a play," Uncle added.

I groaned at this. I wasn't sure if I could sit through a play. There were just some things I couldn't do, even for Katara.

Then, I decided I should go off of Katara's first idea. "Uncle, do you think that dance hall is still open?" I asked. When we were last here, Uncle dragged me to this place. It was kind of like the restaurant we went to last night, but much classier. It was meant for only dancing too, not eating and drinking.

He grinned. "I believe so."

So, we headed back the boat to get ready. I got dressed in a nicer shirt and pair of pants I had. I gave Katara a dress we had bought for her yesterday, even though I was sure then we wouldn't find a reason for her to wear it. It was just something she saw, and Uncle said we should get it for her. So, I waited outside of my bedroom for her to get ready.

As I leaned up against the wall she had thrown me against just a few days ago, I ran a hand through my hair. I smelled like salt. Then, I heard the door creak open and I straightened up.

I swallowed hard when I saw her. She of course, looked ravishing. I felt a little light headed just looking at her. She smiled at my reaction. "I'm glad Uncle made me buy that," I told her as I held out my arm. She grabbed it eagerly. Her dress was a dark red that brought out the natural color of her lips. It went up around her neck and the back was open until low on her was. It was tight until her hips, showing off her natural form.

"I'll take that as a compliment," she told me. "You don't look so bad yourself."

"Compared to how awful I usually look?" I asked, smiling.

"No you usually look handso…" she trailed off. "You know what I mean."

I walked standing straight, everything I had learned as a boy about manners quickly came back to me naturally. I felt as if I didn't look good enough for her, she was even wearing makeup and had her hair up on top of her head which showed of her collarbone.

We walked up the stairs, and a few of the men on the deck looked over at Katara. I was glad she was getting appreciated, yet, I felt like their dirty eyes should stay off of her. She was too good for them.

"You look even lovelier than you usually do," Uncle said as he took her hand and kissed it.

She blushed and thanked him. Then, we started for the walked to the ball. I put my arm around her waist. It was even darker now and there were so many people that I didn't want to loose her. I felt like I was being protective, but I couldn't help it. As we walked up to the building, Katara's face showed awe. I don't believe she had ever been somewhere so nice.

When we walked in, we were washed over with music. It had a fast pace, but was obviously a different sound from last night. "This is more of what I'm used to," I whispered into Katara's ear. This colony seemed like one that loved music.

"How could you ever get used to this?" she replied.

I smiled at her comment. "Excuse me Zuko and Katara, I seem to have spotted one of my old friends," Uncle said as he left and embrace an older lady in a hug. He seemed to know everyone.

"Come on," I told her, leading to the dance floor.

"I don't know if I can dance like that," she said pulling me back. "It's like, real dancing, like memorized dancing."

"You'll be fine. Just don't worry about it," I told her pulling her nervous self with me.

"I don't know, Zuko." I loved the way she said my name. Like it was something bad, yet something she craved. My heart dropped; but I ignored it and turned to face her.

"Katara, relax. You're the one that wanted to go dancing," I persisted this time.

So I pulled her to the floor and placed her hands into the right position. I smiled to comfort her as I led her body. She wasn't bad at all, just nervous. With me leading, a bystander wouldn't have been able to tell she had never danced like this before. I liked this a little better too because I got to stare at her face. It was well lit and we had more space. I could pull her close against me and then have her pull back so I could gawk in her beauty. Finally, she started to smile, and even laughed at how well she was doing.

"See, you're a natural," I complimented. Out of my eye, I saw Uncle dancing with the lady he had seen before.

"I don't know how you can do this everyday," she said.

I was a little confused. "I don't dance everyday, Katara," I knew that's not what she meant though.

"I mean be like this," I pulled her to my chest. "Official… Rich… Prestigious."

"It's not all it seems to be," I told her, our faces getting closer.

She smiled. "Thank you Zuko. For letting me have a good time and not treating me like a prisoner," she said. She brought back the fact that we weren't here for leisure, something I had forgotten. My throat sank as I realized the real reason as to why she was with me.

I took a breath. I felt like now was a time to explain my feelings, how I didn't want her to leave, but I couldn't. So, I pushed her away into a spin, faking a smile.

So, we danced with other little conversations as I fought the erg to just pull her into a passionate kiss. Uncle even got up on stage and played with the band. I couldn't believe out light he treated life. Behind my smile, I was so confused and my head was quickly moving, thinking of how close I was to Katara and how far away I should be.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

I held her close, my heart pounding. I hated the fact that my head was having its own civil war. She danced so well and now I was starting to get a little hot from how fast we were moving. She was manipulating her dress like a Goddess, and of course, she looked like one too. I was so lucky that she was trusting me right now, that she was letting me hold her hand knowing I wasn't going to hurt her. She gave me another smile.

My stomach rumbled, quickly interrupting my thoughts. It kind of annoyed me, but I couldn't remember when I last ate. On our way here, Uncle and Katara had gotten something to eat quickly but I just hadn't felt hungry. I simply didn't feel like eating. My inner conflicts made eating seem so… unimportant.

"Do you want to get some air?" I said into Katara's ear. Everything I did was now quickly making me think of ways to get closer and show my affection. I wanted to start kissing her ear and send more down her neck as I embraced her. But, I held myself back.

"Sure," she said with her charming voice. As we headed out the door, she continued, "I didn't know you enjoyed dancing so much."

"I don't enjoy it as much as I am skilled at it," I explained.

"Well you seemed to be having a good time just a few moments ago." We headed towards the side of the building and I leaned up against the wall.

"Perhaps," was all I commented back.

"I've been having a really nice time, Zuko," my chest dropped whenever she said my name, like it wasn't really coming from her mouth in such a soothing tone. I wanted to stop these feelings right now, but I wouldn't let myself make that mistake. "I'm not used to being able to just have fun-" Fun? Was she having fun with me? That was something I wasn't used to hearing. "And not having to worry about what's coming next or who to run away from," she laughed a little. "I guess when I'm with the enemy; I don't have anyone to fear.

I frowned a little. That was right, I was the enemy. And, that is what she saw me as.

She walked up to me and put her fingers below my chin, then pulled it up so we met eyes. "What's wrong Zuko?"

I was glad that we were quickly interrupted, because I wasn't about to tell her the truth.

"Prince Zuko," I turned to face my Captain. I wasn't sure how he knew where I was, but he was here now, and I was filled with curiosity.

"This better be good," I said in a stern voice. Even though I wasn't upset about him coming I felt as though… I was loosing my control, and my Captain was one thing I always had a firm grasp on.

"May I have a word?" he asked. "Aside?" he added glancing at Katara.

I nodded. "Go back inside Katara," I told her. Now I was in my official mode. Something was important and I felt the need to protect Katara, I also liked to have something of my own she couldn't affect.

She opened her mouth to protest but I put my finger over her lips. She was so stubborn. "Please," I said. Her expression changed and she nodded, leaving. I could still tell that she didn't like that I made her go, but she followed my orders nonetheless.

I turned and nodded to my Captain to continue after I saw the Water Bender enter the building. I wanted to make sure she was out of hearing range, and I just loved to watch her walk. Even though I'd rather her be coming towards me then leaving me, she strolled with such grace, like water itself, I couldn't help but to be mesmerized by it.

"The Avatar and two others have been sighted in town," The man said smoothly yet with concern. It took me a while to process it, and then I started to panic. But, I didn't let it show.

"Wait for orders," I commanded then walked, wishing I could run, towards the building. I needed to find Katara.

I ran with her hand in mine. She was using her fingers of her free limb to try and pull my grasp away as I pulled her behind me.

"Zuko!" she shouted again. "Where are you taking me?"

"Trust me," I answered again without emotion. I continued walking quickly, dodging branches that had infested the woods.

"Why are we in the forest?" she shouted. Because, that was where the Avatar wasn't. I'm sure to her, this seemed completely inappropriate and probably fearsome. When I entered the dancehall, I had grabbed Katara, whispered that we had to leave, and quickly left without even telling Uncle. He'd probably figure out where I went anyways. I clenched my teeth again thinking of the risk I was taking. I acted on my first response: I wanted Katara.

"Trust me," I shouted back to her. It was the only thing I could think of saying and it cause her to stop pulling away from me.

I started to slow down; I could hear Katara catching her breath while I breathed steady, yet quick with adrenaline.

"Zuko, please!" she shouted. I turned to face her, still not letting go of her hand. I figured if I already started acting on my first thoughts, why not continue?

So, I grabbed her and kissed her. Her eyes opened in shock and before she could respond to it, I pulled back, against my will, but I didn't want to get rejected. Then, I lied. "I just needed to be alone with you Katara." Well, it wasn't actually a lie. Of course I wanted to be alone with her, that just wasn't the reason I brought her out here.

"Zuko… I'm flattered… But… What did that man say to you?" she asked. She was always thinking too much. I had a feeling not much got by her.

"Please Katara," I didn't know what to do. I couldn't tell her. I grabbed both her hands in mine and pulled her close to my chest. I opened my mouth to say words I didn't plan on, but I stopped and turned around. Then, I threw my fist at a tree and lit it on fire growling. I was so frustrated.

"Zuko!" Katara yelled. She pulled water from a puddle near by and put the fire out before it got too big. She was so good at controlling me and putting out my own rage. "What is wrong with you?"

"I'm just so confused Katara," I explained, putting a hand against another tree. My back was still towards her.

"Well setting trees on fire isn't going to help!"

I didn't respond. I think she realized her yelling wasn't helping. "Please, tell me what you're thinking." I could hear her take steps towards me.

I didn't turn, but said, "I… I've been so afraid of letting you go," I shook my head for regretting that I admitted how I felt. "I know I shouldn't feel this way about you, but I just can't help it. I wish I could just hate you," I turned my head so I could meet her eyes. They were wet. "But I just can't!"

She bit her lip as I turned back to stare into the dark. I ran and hand through my hair and dropped my support against the tree. "Zuko, I don't…" Katara's words trailed off.

I realized my problems were even too much for her. I put up a hand, telling her to stop before she even tried to continue. "Just, don't. I understand."

"No, Zuko," she said now taking more steps towards me. "I… I feel the same."

I couldn't believe what I heard. She was now right in front of me and I wrapped my arms around her waist. "Katara, I don't want the Avatar to take you."

"So don't let him," and with that whisper, she pressed her lips against me. I didn't believe what she said as nice as it sounded. I knew she could get caught up in the moment and as I kissed her back, I knew she would want to return to the Avatar and her brother and whoever the third person was that was spotted in town.

But, for now, I held her and kissed her with passion. I bribed her into staying in the woods with me, claiming I didn't want to make the journey back. I didn't know if she believed me, but she stayed with me that night. We slept on the earth gazing at the stars as her head rested on my chest and our fingers danced with each others.

We laid there as lovers, talking about nothing but everything at the same time. We didn't mention anything about the war, or the Avatar or nations. The only things that left our mouths were stories, myths, things we loved and hated. I let my mind focus on only her, until she fell asleep.

I knew, in the morning, I would have to return and I would have to make an important decision I didn't want to face. There were three people looking for Katara, and being this close, they had to find her. There was also one person who was waiting on me to make the right choice. And I didn't know what it was that he wanted me to choose. My Uncle's opinion was always so unclear until the moment you do what he thought was wrong, which is something I was not looking forward to.

So, I stroked Katara's hair, thinking about how I could say goodbye to her or how great our live would be connected in this world that wanted us apart.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

I watched her as her eyes fluttered into the daylight. I had been sitting in the same position all night, since I got up after I was sure she was asleep. Sleep wouldn't pass over me last night, I was too nervous, too confused, to drift into that state of relaxation. I watched the beautiful girl lying before me smile at the sight of my face as I wished I wasn't there. I didn't want to give her these handfuls of problems that were truly just mine.

"Good morning Zuko," she said as she sat up and rubbed her neck. "Sleeping on the ground sure is different from sleeping in your bed," she added, still smiling.

Her expression seemed to drop with the sight of my, I suppose, very emotionless face. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I need to tell you something," I answered. I had been repeating the words over my head all night, but now, all of that flew out of my head and all my thoughts were gone. I was working purely on impulse. Then, I quickly grabbed both sides of her face and pulled her into a kiss. I had wanted to do it all night. We kissed passionately until I pulled away to catch my breath. "Katara, I love you," I said. That wasn't what I was going to intentionally tell her, but it was something I needed to get off my chest, and it felt so good to say.

She wrapped her arms around my neck. I was so surprised I almost fell over. "Zuko…" she started and pulled away to look at me in the eyes. "I love you too." I stared and smiled at her, pulling her into another kiss. I felt like we had both been waiting for this moment, and it was finally here. But, there were problems we needed to attend to, so I pulled away again, sick of putting it off.

"There's something else," I said slowly, not wanting the words to leave my mouth. I felt like I had ruined the moment but I knew I was running out of time.

"What is it?" she asked. Her voice sort of trailed off, like she didn't want to hear what was coming next. She was smart for thinking that.

"Katara," I started, taking a deep breath, "Last night when my Captain was talking to me… he told me something important." Her words from last night rang in my head, '_So_ _don't let him_,' but I had to let him. I couldn't keep hiding her. "It's… the Avatar," I couldn't tell what she was thinking, her appearance was blank, "He's been spotted in town."

She kind of gasped. As if she… didn't really know what to do. Then, her gaze finally met mine. "What are you going to do?" she asked the one question I didn't want to face.

I stood up; she followed. I kept my back turned to her, still trying to think of a possible solution. "Zuko, you need to do something," she said.

"I know!" I shouted. I felt like I was being pressured. I always knew what to do, except for this time. This time, I was out of control, out of focus.

"Zuko." The word left Katara's lips softly as she placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned to face her. "You know, the Avatar need's a Firebending teacher."

She was walking quickly as I tried to pull her hand into a slower pace. I didn't want to have to deal with this, not ever. At first, the idea seemed too unreal to me, but now, I was agreeing to it. I stared at her body as she led in front of me. She was so beautiful and I was so glad it was my hand she was clasping onto. I was sure I had made the right decision; I never wanted to leave her.

We emerged out of the woods and everything around me seemed to suddenly get brighter and louder. I followed Katara's pulling hand until a certain person caught my eye.

"Uncle," I greeted him as he walked towards us. He had a smirk on his face as he looked at our dirty clothes and our hands intertwined. I knew he would have a good hypothesis of where we were at but not of what we were doing.

"Zuko," he greeted, and nodded his head to the Water Tribe girl next to me, "and Katara. What a lovely morning!"

I let go of Katara's hand and gave her a little nod as to say I need a little alone time with my uncle. We walked a few steps, next to a building.

"Uncle, the Avatar-"

"I know Zuko. I was informed when the guards couldn't find you," he answered.

I gave him a look of understanding, not sure what to say next. "What are you going to do, young Prince?" he asked me.

I took a deep breath. I still wasn't sure of the decision Katara and I had decided on. "I'm going to join them," I answered.

A grin stretched across Uncle's face. "A difficult decision."

"Katara and I want you to come with us," I added, we had already talked about it.

He nodded. "First, I think you should confront the Avatar before we make further plans. I last heard he was seen at the beach late last night, he probably slept there."

I gave him a weak smile and turned to Katara. "Let's go," I whispered to her as I grabbed her arm and started leading the way to the beach, trying to steady my breathing.

"Remember what I said," Katara told me. They were in the woods close to the beach. We had sighted their flying bison and now we decided for Katara to meet with them first. I was replaying everything we had discussed earlier on.

I shook my head, telling her I was ready, and she walked into the area where the Avatar and two other people were sitting around a fire. As she entered, the Air Bender quickly jumped up. He yelled her name and embraced her in a hug. This affection suddenly made me a little upset, and I wanted to jump out to pull her into my arms, where she belonged. But I didn't move.

It was hard to hear all of their words, but the Water Tribe boy hugged her also. Then, they motion to a girl dressed in green with her hair in her face, as if they were introducing her. I couldn't recall seeing her before.

I was becoming impatient. It seemed like Katara was procrastinating even though I knew she was just waiting for the right time.

Then, I heard the words come from the little girl with black hair mouth's saying, "Someone's watching us."

How she knew, I wasn't sure. There was no way she saw me hidden behind a tree, I hadn't even saw her lift her head up to look, but she knew, and I figured that was my signal.

I stood up straight and strolled into the clearing. The two boy's faces were washed with surprise, then, they quickly got into fighting stances.

"Wait," Katara said. "He's not here to hurt anyone," she claimed, putting up her hands.

"What do you mean?" the boy holding a boomerang asked with disbelief. "He's only tried to kill us a hundred times!"

"I'm…" I started. I couldn't find the right thing to say, so I looked at Katara for help.

"Aang, Zuko wants to join us," she said quickly and bluntly. The Avatar dropped his stance and switched his eyes from me to Katara. "You need a Fire Bender teacher," she added for a little extra push.

"Katara…" he said with confusion.

"I think he can speak for himself," The Water Tribe boy said staring me down.

I took a step forward. "I know this seems a little… out of place. But, I'm sorry for my actions before. I now see that this is where I belong. I want to help you." I said, just flowing out the words that came to my head. Then I added, "I've changed."

"Zuko, I'm glad you feel that way…" Aang trailed off, meeting my eyes.

"How can you believe him?" The other boy asked, lowering his arms. He turned to Katara, "He just kept you as a prisoner!"

"He's not lying," the Earth Kingdom girl said right as Katara opened her mouth. We both has confused looks, I wasn't sure how she knew that.

Katara opened her mouth again, "As much as I don't want to admit it, we do need him. I do think he has changed, Aang. I don't know where else we could find a teacher." It seemed so much that she had different intentions than I of why I wanted to join the group. She was making it just for the sake of Aang. We had decided we wouldn't confess to our relationship just yet. Katara said me joining would be enough stress and that I should get her brother to like me before bringing up any affection towards her. But, she seemed so convincing.

I looked over at Katara as she stared at Aang, and then to her brother, with pleading eyes. I glanced at the girl, leaning against a tree far away from us smiling. I wasn't sure what she was smiling about.

"It would be an honor for you to teach me," the Avatar said, bowing to me.

"You can't be serious," Katara's brother said. He seemed just as stubborn as she was.

"Sokka, please," Katara begged.

"How can you think I could possible trust him?" He shot back.

I stepped in then. "I know my trust will take time to gain, and I don't expect to earn it right away. But I'll show you that I've changed."

"I just want to make it clear that I'm not going to like this," Sokka said. Katara's face lit up so I assumed this was him excepting me.

"Thank you, Sokka," I said bowing to him, "And Avatar. I won't let you down." He gave a weak smile to me, still seemingly unsure.

"What about your ship, and crew…" The Water Tribe boy started to question.

"Your uncle?" the Avatar added.

Katara stepped in now, "I think two Fire Benders would be better than one," she answered.

"And as for my ship and crew, they will no longer be needed," I added.

Katara and I walked through the woods to go find my Uncle, leaving the other three to think over what just happened. We had to convince her brother to let us go alone, but now, here we were. I couldn't help the smile spreading across my face. After walking awhile, Katara grabbed my hands in hers.

"I'm so happy Zuko," she said, continuing to walk.

"Me too," I responded, giving her a smile in return.

As I walked onto the street, I saw Uncle and I pointed to him for Katara to see. As we strolled towards him, suddenly, two men in uniform jumped out and grabbed both of his arms.

I dropped Katara's hand and put my arm in front of her to push her back. More men were appearing as they started to head down an alley. My Uncle didn't use his bending which made me feel as though he wasn't going to try and fight back. More men appeared. As my foot left the ground to chase after him, Katara's hands pulled me back.

"There's too many of them Zuko," she said, using all of her force to keep me there. "They're obviously very well trained. Don't let them take you too."

"I have to," I said turning to her, prying her hands off with ease.

"Please Zuko, I only just got you. I can't loose you now," she said, her eyes making me stop. "There's too many, we need Aang's help. Do you recognize them?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered. "They're my father's men."


End file.
